Amber Eyes
by CiaraUotani
Summary: Legend of the wolf was known throughout the small village where she grew up, but to most, it was an old wives tale. But legends always have underlying truth to them. "Beware the wolf on the prowl at night, for he will devour you on sight. They say you can hear his howling cries... Beware... Beware the Amber Eyes."
1. Chapter 1- Legend of Amber

**Amber Eyes**

_Legend of the wolf was known throughout the small village where she grew up, but to most, it was an old wives tale. But legends always have underlying truth to them. "Beware the wolf on the prowl at night, for he will devour you on sight. They say you can hear his howling cries... Beware... Beware the Amber Eyes."_

_Note: When it says "Present Day" that means the present of the undisclosed date that this story takes place in; not 2013_

***Chapter 1***

_Legend of Amber_

The thunder roared outside of the small hut. The rain beat heavily against the small wooden windows that could barely stay closed against the ferocious wind. The storm had come from nowhere, and many people hadn't been prepared and were forced to take cover away from their homes, praying that their belongings wouldn't be completely destroyed by the rain.

Although the outdoors were raging, within a small wooden home near the center of the old village, little children gathered around an older woman in a rocking chair. Her warm, welcoming features were highlighted in the soft flicker of the fire. Her hair was nearly snow white with small flecks of brown near the roots, but soon they too would be pure white. Her old hand-made quilt was pulled over her lap, but slightly wrapped around a small child who had said they were cold. The old woman's voice was soft as she quietly told the old stories of their village.

"The stars then replied, 'Forgive us, and we will fall from the sky to grant your wish.'." She said softly, "And still to this day, the stars bless our world by falling, and granting the wishes of all who see them."

All the children looked to each other in amazement, and began talking about the Legend of the Star. For some, it was an old story they had heard from their mothers at bedtime, but to others, it was a new possibility and reason for why many things occurred.

"Alright children," the old woman smiled, "I believe that is enough for tonight."

A collective groan came from the group. "Tell the story of the wolf, Grandma!" A young girl with black hair called out.

The old woman smiled at the eagerness of the little girl. A dozen pair of pleading eyes looked up at the woman they all admired like their own grandmother. Sighing, she caved into her request. "This is the oldest story of the village," she began, "it has been passed down through generations of children like yourselves.

"Once upon a time, when the first villagers came to settle into this area, a young woman went out to fetch herbs for the young men that had been injured during their long trek."

The children all sat in anticipation as the old woman's voice.

_**~Hundreds of Years Ago…~**_

_The sun shined softly through the thick, green foliage of the forest. It was dense, but not so bad that the young woman wasn't able to cut away a path with a stick as she walked through. Birds and other animals called throughout the forest; it was unlike anything the young woman had ever seen or heard in her life._

_The further she walked, the thicker the forest floor seemed to get. Although she couldn't turn around; the herbs she needed grew near a river, and the sound of rushing water got louder the further she traveled. She knew she was going the right way and wouldn't be stuck in the beautiful, yet intimidating forest. Anyone would get scared in the forest alone. She had been offered company, but had politely turned them down saying she would be fine on her own; she now regretted her decision. _

Don't be scared… nothing to be afraid of…_ she repeated to her mantra in her mind as she got closer and closer. She wasn't sure why she was so on-edge, but in the pit of her stomach something felt wrong, as though she wasn't meant to be there; she was intruding._

_Finally, with one last swat of the stick, she reached a clearing, but it hadn't been what she had been expecting. _

_A few feet away from her, a small river fell from a small waterfall further up the river, rushing quickly over the shallow rocks; all pouring into a deeper pool to her left. The crystal blue water shined with the bright sun. Past it, hills upon hills rolled out in a sea of green and colourful flowers of varieties she had never seen._

_As she walked out of the thick foliage, a fresh breeze swept across her cheeks to meet her, making her shiver slightly. Never before had she been so at peace, yet the unknown feeling of fear still crept through her whole body. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, trying to calm her frazzled nerves. As she released it, she opened her eyes, and her heart nearly stopped._

_It hadn't been the beautiful miniature waterfall or beautiful fields that captivated her anymore; instead it was someone… or rather some_thing_ that had caught her attention. On the opposite side of the river beautiful amber eyes looked up at her belonging to… a wolf._

**~Present Day~**

"Bad wolf!" a young girl cried.

"Don't go near the cursed wolf!" a young boy shouted as he jumped to his feet.

The old woman chuckled at the enthusiasm from the children. It had been a long time since they had gotten so interested and attached to a story, no matter how many times they had heard it. Rather than being bored by an old woman's tales, they almost seemed to anticipate every time a large storm would roll in so they could all get together and enjoy the stories together.

A loud clap of thunder made the whole house shake. Children scrambled closer to the old woman for comfort and protection. A loud bang from the door made several children scream. Even the old woman jumped at the sudden noise. "It's the wolf!" the girl in her arm cried.

The door slammed open with the fierce wind; in the doorway stood a small frame, drenched in water. Slowly it walked inside, slamming the door closed against the wind. No one said a word as she leaned against the door. A dozen pair of eyes watched as the drenched figure turned to face them. Immediately they all stood and rushed the exhausted girl. "Sakura!"

The young woman's eyes lit up at the excitement of the children. "I see you've all been listening to Grandmother's stories again." Sakura smiled.

All of the children agreed, either calling out of nodding their heads excitedly. Making her way over to the chair, the dozen children followed her back over to the old woman waiting in the old rocking chair. Her old green eyes sparkled as she watched Sakura's interaction with all the kids. Sakura knelt in front of the old woman's chair, "Good to see you're all ok in this storm, Grandmother."

"We're fine, Little Blossom." Her old hands reached out and stroked Sakura's damp hair, pushing it out of the way of her face. "It was quite dangerous for you to come and see us, but I'm glad you are here."

The two stayed like that for a moment, the old woman looking at her true granddaughter. Many people called her Grandmother, but only Sakura was truly related to her by blood. She resembled herself so much when she was Sakura's age. _She may resemble me, but her heart is so much purer than mine was…_

"Finish the story Grandmother!" a child cried out.

The old woman was taken from her thoughts, and brought back to reality, as the young girl with black hair called out. Sakura's face turned to see the young girl, and turned back to her grandmother. "What story are you sharing this time?" she smiled.

"The story of the wolf." The old woman winked.

Sakura knew the story well, she had been enchanted with it herself when she was young. "That always was one of my favourites; please continue." Shedding her wet cloak, Sakura nestled herself down on the floor with the children, and many curled up next to her, listening to the soft voice of the old woman.

**~The Next Day~**

She wasn't sure what time it was when she woke up, but the soft breathing of the children in her lap told her that it was still early enough that their daily activities hadn't started yet. Her neck had become stiff after falling asleep leaning against the wall while listening to her grandmother's stories. It had been a long time since she had heard them; but all the same she still loved each and every one of them.

After a short while, a loud knock came from the door, stirring many of the children. Groaning, Sakura stood up and made her way to the door to see who had disturbed the poor children. It wasn't everyday that they were able to stay up so late, and they deserved their rest; so did she.

At the door, a village guard stood in the doorway. He looked down at Sakura, both in curiosity and amazement. Although she looked as though she had just woken up, her brilliant green eyes stared up at him defiantly, almost making him wish as though he had never set foot near the house. Quickly clearing his throat, he attempted to recover from the uncomfortable feeling that had overcome him, "I'm here to escort the children that were staying here last night because of the storm back to their respective homes."

Rolling her eyes, she left the door open as she went back into the house to get the children ready to go home. Many of them were still asleep, but they would have to wake up to head home to their parents waiting for them.

One by one, the sleepy children walked out of the house, each giving Sakura a hug before they left. "Tell Grandma we say thank you when she wakes up!" the little black haired girl from last night said as she ran ahead of the group to find her mother.

As the last one left the house, the guard turned to Sakura once more before she could shut the door. His face flushed red as he looked down at the innocent girl in front of him. "Th-thank you for looking after the children last night…"

Sakura looked up at him slightly confused. "I always take care of the children with my grandmother… it's nothing really special."

"I… well you're right, but I wanted to thank you for your hard work."

"I don't work nearly as hard as you do as a guard, so I should be the one thanking you." She smiled at him and bowed deeply. Her sudden actions took the young man off guard, and he began to stutter incoherent words. Raising her head again, she smiled at him once more. "Thank you for coming to collect the children, you should hurry on to keep up with them. Good day."

With that, she closed the door as the young guard realized he had forgotten about the children and sped off after them.

"I see they've all left."

Sakura turned to find her grandmother in the doorway of her bedroom. Her brown-white hair was already brushed and braided to the side, falling down to her hip. Sakura had always been jealous of her grandmother's long hair, but long hair had never suited her face before, so she kept it just to shoulder length.

"A guard just came to escort them back home, although I'm pretty sure that it will be the other way around." Sakura laughed.

Her grandmother laughed with her; her old green eyes crinkled as she smiled. Sakura loved hearing her grandmother's laugh; it was whispery and light but still had the softness of her normal speaking voice. Everything about her grandmother made Sakura envious. She hoped that when she grew to be that age, she would age as gracefully as she had.

Slowly her grandmother's laugh lightened and slowly faded. "Little Blossom, will you go see your brother today? I need him to come and repair some of the fencing that was ruined last night in the storm."

"Of course, I'll go see him now." Sakura said as she rushed to her room to get ready.

She closed her bedroom door behind her and grabbed an old pink working dress and a pair of boots to trek through the mud. Giving herself a once over look of her outfit, Sakura brushed her hair so it settled her bed-head enough so that her brother couldn't make fun of her as he always did. She tried to prove to her brother that she wasn't just a little kid anymore, but he always seemed to see her as the nine year old girl that he had left with their Grandmother when he had to go off to become an apprentice.

Giving herself a final approving glance, Sakura made her way out of the old cottage-like home and down the old muddy roads of their village.

Old wooden homes lined the normally dirt road. The rain had made them difficult to tread without nearly falling over. People greeted her and each other as they passed, wishing everyone a good morning. The village radiated the sense of peace and love you would feel from a family, but with every person who was fortunate to live there.

"Good morning, Sakura!" Rika called.

Sakura and Rika had been friends since they were young and in school together. Sakura didn't entirely approve of Rika's choice in men: their old teacher Mr. Terada, or Yoshiyuki Terada, but she still supported all of her efforts to win him over. In Sakura's opinion, she didn't need to try much harder since he had been waiting for Rika to be of age before officially proposing to her.

"Hey, Rika! I can't talk right now; I'm off to see Touya!" Sakura called back.

Rika smiled knowingly and waved her friend good bye and wished her luck. It was no secret to anyone that Sakura was trying to prove to Touya she was old enough to find a man to be her husband. If it weren't for her grandmother, Sakura would have moved out and found her own home to prove her independence, but the older her grandmother got, the more concerned Sakura became for her; despite all the strength the woman showed on a regular basis.

Sakura arrived at her brother's home, and knocked loudly on the front door. Excitement radiated off her as she waited for Touya's approval. She could hear her brother's feet softly padding across the wooden floor towards the door. She wasn't sure she could handle all the excitement when the door opened to reveal an extremely tired Touya.

"Morning, Touya!" Sakura said happily.

Touya squinted his eyes as he looked down at his little sister whose smile looked like the sun. "What are you doing here so early, Squirt?"

"Grandmother asked me to come and see you and ask you to fix her fence…" Sakura trailed off, and tried to motion to her appearance to get a reaction out of Touya, but his glazing eyes seemed to completely disregard the way she looked. Sighing, she understood that he needed to get back to bed. "Let's get you back into bed you lazy oaf."

Sakura slipped off her boots as she stepped into her brother's home and draped his arm over her shoulder and slowly dragged him back to his room. He worked hard to make money to provide for himself as well as give money to Sakura and their grandmother so they could get by. Sakura tried to tell him that if he would let her, she would get a job too, but he insisted that she was too young or too weak to get a job that would give her any real money. Sometimes she wished she had been born a boy so she too could help him out.

"Sakura…" Touya groaned as she tried to slip him back into his bed. Sakura looked at her brother expecting him to be vaguely awake, but as far as she could tell he was fast asleep; he was dreaming about her.

_Someday Touya… Someday you won't have to work this hard for me. Maybe I'll be able to help you out instead._ Sakura thought as she softly closed the door to his room.

Back out in the wet, muddy streets, Sakura slowly made her way back to her grandmother to tell her Touya wouldn't be able to get it done today. If she knew how, Sakura would have done it herself but Touya had never taught her how to use a hammer or build anything. The only things she had really learned from him were how to read and write, cook and how to use a dagger for self defense.

"Well don't you just look like a ray of sunshine." A teasing voice called out.

Lifting her head, Sakura spotted Yukito, her brother's childhood friend. His silver hair was blowing softly in the wind as he smiled at her from his place on a roof. Like her brother, Yukito was an apprenticing to be a builder, and so they were often called to repair homes after rough storms.

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him, making him laugh at her childish action. "I was _supposed_ to ask Touya to fix Grandmother's fence, but he's been overworking himself again and I ended up putting him to bed…" Sakura sighed.

Yukito gave her a soft smile before carefully jumping down from the roof to stand beside the small girl. He was about the same height as Touya; at least a good foot taller than Sakura. At one point, Sakura had thought she was in love with him, but that quickly faded when he had made it painfully clear that he was noting more than the sister he never had. Even though she had gotten over him, he still held a soft place in her heart.

"Why don't you pick some herbs for him and make him a nice dinner tonight? He misses both you and your grandmother a lot, you know…"

"That's a great idea!" Sakura beamed. It would be a great way to prove to Touya that she was responsible and mature and she would be able to spend some quality time with him. She would kill two birds with one stone. Jumping up, Sakura wrapped her arms around Yukito giving him a tackle hug before sprinting off down the road to find fresh herbs and later pick up some meat and vegetables from the market.

_Now where was that old grove…?_ Sakura thought to herself. When she was a little girl, her grandmother had taken her for walks and shown her the different types and uses of many herbs and plants surrounding their village. By chance, Sakura had found a small grove filled with every type of herb she could ever need: it was her own special place.

Pushing branches out of the way, Sakura walked into the thick forest, keeping an eye out of the old tree she used as a landmark. The beautiful, dense foliage of the forest seemed to almost reach for her as she made her way through; either stopping her, or welcoming her to their domain. Soft chirping birds echoed through the trees, and animals of all different kinds called to each other. Several silenced themselves when Sakura drew close to them, but as soon as she passed, they would start up their calls once again. It was a place of ultimate peace.

To her right, something caught her eye. For a moment she wasn't sure what it was; maybe it had been just her eyes playing a trick on her. Looking more carefully she recognized where she was. If she headed towards the low hanging willow tree, she would see the grove around there.

Comfortable with her bearings, Sakura jogged towards the old tree, carelessly beating away the thick foliage out of her path. _I'm not totally useless, Touya!_ Sakura thought excitedly. She reached the old tree and looked around for the grove, but as far as she could see, there were no familiar landmarks to point her way to the grove.

A soft breeze brushed the back of her neck, making her shiver. In the breeze, the smell of flowers and herbs tickled her noise. _Over there!_ Spinning on her heal, Sakura followed her nose to the source of the smell.

Swatting away her last branch, Sakura knew she was officially lost.

Instead of arriving in the small green grove, Sakura found herself looking out into a beautiful pasture filled with some flowers she could name, but many were foreign to her. A small river of crystal blue water fell from a small waterfall further up the river. It's swift current over shallow rocks was all that separated her from the seemingly endless field. Sakura was, to say the least, awestruck by the beautiful scenery in front of her. Even in some of the best paintings, nothing could describe the breath-taking view.

Excited by her discovery, Sakura made her way to the river to look into the water. Little minnow fish swam with the water towards a larger basin which connected to another river that led back into the forest. Their almost translucent bodies shimmered under the sun's warm rays.

Soft rustling caught Sakura's attention, she hoped it would be a small furry animal come for a drink at the river. She wasn't totally wrong…

On the opposite side of the river, Sakura found herself looking into the eyes of a beautiful wolf with…

_Amber Eyes_

* * *

_Heey Guys!  
_

_I hope you enjoyed the first chapter for Amber Eyes! Please Let me know what you think!_

_~CiaraUotani_


	2. Chapter 2- Haunting Amber

**Amber Eyes**

_Legend of the wolf was known throughout the small village where she grew up, but to most, it was an old wives tale. But legends always have underlying truth to them. "Beware the wolf on the prowl at night, for he will devour you on sight. They say you can hear his howling cries... Beware... Beware the Amber Eyes."_

_**~Previously~**_

Soft rustling caught Sakura's attention, she hoped it would be a small furry animal come for a drink at the river. She wasn't totally wrong…

On the opposite side of the river, Sakura found herself looking into the eyes of a beautiful wolf with…

_Amber Eyes_

***Chapter 2***

_Haunting Amber_

Sakura was frozen in place by both fear and something else that she couldn't quite describe. The wolf appeared to be looking her over, deciding what to do with her. Everything in Sakura screamed for her to run, but her legs felt like two boulders keeping her firmly planted next to the rushing water. _It can probably how scared I am…_ Sakura mentally slapped herself.

Neither the wolf nor Sakura were moved an inch, simply just staring at each other. Taking a moment, Sakura looked closely at the calm yet terrifying creature.

Its whole body was covered in beautiful brown fur from head to paw. The face was angular, intensifying the captivating amber coloured eyes. Sakura could faintly hear her grandmother's words in the back of her mind, '_It hadn't been the beautiful miniature waterfall or beautiful fields that captivated her anymore; instead it was someone… or rather some_thing_ that had caught her attention. On the opposite side of the river beautiful amber eyes looked up at her belonging to… a wolf.'_

The words of the old legend rang inside her mind. She tried to recall the rest of it since she had just heard it the other night, but it escaped her mind. She had been so tired when she had arrived back at home that she hadn't really paid any attention to the words. Sakura instantly regretted that fact. She had never thought that she would need to remember the legend in a moment like this in her life. It was supposed to be just an old wives' tale; nobody ever really believed that they were true. _Is this really the same wolf…?_

Slowly resolving herself to think about it all later when she was safe at home under her grandmother's quilt, Sakura began to slowly lift herself up from her crouching position. The wolf followed her movements but not in a predatory way. It seemed genuinely interested in what she was going to do next. "Nice wolf… I'll leave you to drink now, so don't mind me." Sakura said as she slowly stepped back. The wolf took a step closer to her, sending instant shivers up her spine.

It seemed to notice her fear and stopped just before the water of the river. Taking that chance, Sakura turned and sprinted back into the forest. If she was lucky, she would make it back to the village before the wolf caught up to her. She doubted the wolf was interested in the chase due to its laid back attitude towards her, but Sakura immediately corrected herself, _It's better to be safe than sorry._

She wasn't sure where she was anymore, but as long as she went straight, she would eventually hit a dirt path or even the backyard of someone from the village. Sweat was beading down her face while branches scraped against her legs and face as she ran for dear life. She breath was quick and her lungs felt like they were on fire, but she resolved not to slow down.

Breaking through the tree line, Sakura found herself between two old wood houses from the village; luckily ones she recognized. Taking a minute to catch her breath, she knelt down close to the ground trying to ease her pounding heart. It had been a while since she had ran that hard for that long, and it had wiped her of all her energy. Her legs felt like immovable boulders, reminding her of her paralysis in front of the wolf.

Was it normal for a wolf to look at you with curiosity? From what she had learned from her grandmother and the lessons at the village's school, wolves were predatory: the eat-first-ask-questions-later type animal. Yet that strange wolf with the glowing amber eyes had not seemed feral or vicious. _It was like it was amused by me..._ Sakura thought.

"Sakura… is that you?"

The sudden voice brought Sakura out of her reverie about the mysterious wolf and was now face to face with her old teacher from school, Kaho Mizuki. She was a tall woman with long flowing red hair that reached her waist. She had always been patient with Sakura in school even when she did poorly in lessons; it was no wonder Touya was head over heels for her. She stood on the back porch of one of the houses watching the exhausted young girl.

"What on earth happened to you?" She asked making her way towards Sakura. She knelt down beside her and looked over the young girl; noticing the cuts and scrapes all over arms and legs and the few on her face as well. "You look like you've been cut repeatedly by a knife… did someone attack you?"

Tears welled up in Sakura's eyes. She was overwhelmed by emotions of relief that she soon began to hiccup and sob. Kaho leaned over and hugged the tiny framed girl. Kaho, at a loss for words, simply sat cradling her in her arms, softly comforting Sakura as she wept.

**~Later That Day~**

Sakura slept soundly on Kaho's couch while she went to see Sakura's Grandmother to let her know that she was safe and would be spending the night with her. Sakura had barely told the story before Kaho softly patted her back and told her that there were no wolves in the area; that she must have imagined it. Sakura knew she hadn't imagined the beautiful yet terrifying wolf. There was no way that it couldn't have been real. Kaho nodded, accepting her claim, but Sakura knew that Kaho still didn't believe her. She didn't care if people thought she was crazy, she knew what she had seen, and no one could tell her otherwise.

The soft rumbling of clouds woke Sakura up from her peaceful nap. She was now covered head to toe in bandages to protect her slashed skin to become infected. The long ribbons wrapped from her wrists to elbows and ankles to knees, and large patches covered spots on her upper arm, thighs and one on her cheek and forehead. Her legs still felt heavy from her sprint, but she slowly got up off of the couch and walked over to the front window.

Kaho had left while the sun was still up, and the sun was beginning to set. The village was big, but not big enough to take up a whole afternoon to walk to Sakura's home and back. Sighing, Sakura realized that Kaho would have stopped by to tell Touya what had happened to his little sister, and she found him completely exhausted in bed and would want to take care of him. Originally that's what Sakura had wanted to do for her older brother, but instead needed up making a fool out of herself; only proving Touya's point that she still needed to be cared for.

Frustration built up inside her as she imagined the taunting words Touya would say to her next time he saw her. "Looks like there's something even a little monster like you is scared of" he would say. Or even, "Little Sakura isn't quite big enough to be on her own, even in the forest. I guess you still need to be babysat on walks."

"I don't need a babysitter…" Sakura growled. There was no one to hear her, but she was beginning to feel so agitated she began to pace around the house, ignoring the twinges of pain that would occasionally shoot up her legs if she stepped the wrong way. She lit a candle so she wouldn't bump into the furniture when a louder rumble of thunder rolled overhead and the rain began to pour.

It was the rainy months just before the snow began to fall, and it was terrible for storms in the area. Soon the whole village would be blanketed in beautiful, glistening snow. Sakura loved the look of untouched snow in the mornings, and then children playing in it later, building sculptures, forts and anything they could imagine in the afternoons. In the evenings, Sakura and her Grandmother would watch the setting sun over the hills and the snow which reflected the fiery glow.

A loud, long howl from outside the old home stopped Sakura's beautiful daydream and instantly made her very aware of her surroundings. She quickly ran to the back of the house, staying low to the ground and peeked out the window and into the dark, dense forest.

In the forest, a soft glow made Sakura's heart race. A pair of golden eyes watched from the thick foliage directly at her. Sakura jumped down and sat on the floor, her hands clutched to her chest: the wolf had followed her. It must have waited until the sun went down to show itself and finish what it had been really been planning back at the river.

Sakura nervously turned around again and peeked over the ledge of the windowsill searching for the pair of eyes. They weren't hard to spot as the wolf cautiously walked out of the thick foliage towards the house. Squealing, Sakura jumped away from the window and ran over to the couch. She was all alone in the house, no one to help her, no one to witness her death, and no one to see the wolf and prove that she hadn't been imagining things. Surely the neighbours had heard the loud howl and would hear her scream for help if the wolf managed to get inside.

Sakura peeked over the side of the couch to see where the wolf was through the window. From where she sat, she couldn't see very well outside the house, but she knew it was still there. She waited for any sign of the wolf, her breath quick and short; her heart pounding behind her ribs. Never before had Sakura been so afraid for her life.

Suddenly, they appeared again. The wolf looked in through the window meeting her terrified gaze. Sakura screamed and fell over backwards off the couch. She scrambled to sit up again and peek from behind the couch at the window again. Amber eyes met emerald and the two looked at each other for a long time, neither breaking the heavy gaze. The wolf continued to watch her, but yet again his watchful eyes were more curious than predatory; that didn't mean Sakura trusted the wolf any less. After all, the wolf had followed her from the forest to Kaho's cabin; it had waited until dark was and was now staring in the window at her while she cowered in fear behind the couch.

A loud click made Sakura scream yet again and turn to face the front door. In the doorway, Kaho looked down at Sakura with a concerned look. "Sakura why are you screaming and on the floor; are you alright?" Kaho said dropping to her knees next to her.

"Th-There w-was the w-wolf!" Sakura stammered. She turned back to the window to show Kaho she wasn't crazy, but when she turned back, the wolf and its mesmerizing eyes were nowhere to be found.

"It was just a bad dream, Sakura. You don't need to be afraid of wolves. Honestly, I think you've been listening to your grandmother tell those old legends for so long that you've started to imagine that they're real." Kaho said stroking her back. "You don't need to worry, it's just an old legend; it's not real."

Her grandmother's famous words came to mind as she sat beside Kaho on the floor trying to calm her racing heart.

_Legends always have underlying truths to them…_

**~The Next Day~**

Sakura didn't sleep much at Kaho's. She tried to sleep with one eye open in case the wolf came back, but it never did and she ended up just losing sleep. Kaho tried to get her to stay another night so she wouldn't scare her grandmother with stories of wolves, but Sakura insisted she was fine and thanked Kaho for her hospitality. It wasn't that Sakura didn't _want_ to stay; it was that Kaho's home was too close to the forest, and she didn't want to be anywhere near where the wolf could be hiding.

Aimlessly walking the streets, Sakura tried to come up with what to tell her grandmother. Kaho was right about not wanting to scare her grandmother, but she didn't really want to lie about it. Of everyone in the village, she trusted her grandmother the most to know about the wolves and what Sakura should do. She just didn't want her grandmother to be worried about her.

"Well don't you look like death warmed over…"

Sakura sleepily turned around to find Rika carrying a basket with herbs and fruits while giving Sakura a once over. Sakura knew Rika was probably right about her looking like a corpse, but it still wasn't the most positive thing to hear in the morning after the rough night she had had. "Thanks for the confidence boost, Rika." Sakura said jokingly.

Rika shrugged her shoulders and giggled as she ran up beside Sakura. The two began walking together, Rika carefully pulling and pushing Sakura to avoid people, puddles and to keep her awake. Sakura knew that Rika wouldn't really believe her story, but she explained what had happened to her at the river and then later at Kaho's, hoping that Rika would unknowingly give her the advice she needed.

"A wolf; are you sure, Sakura?" Rika asked skeptically.

Sakura nodded, but unlike what she was hoping, Rika didn't offer any advice, simply kept to herself as the pair walked down the old muddy road. The occasional person would wave to them in passing wishing them a good morning before moving on. The two stopped at the corner and Rika turned to look at Sakura. "I think you just need some rest. I don't want to tell you that you're crazy because you're not; I just think it might be exhaustion. Get some sleep and I'll come see you tomorrow." She gave her a quick hug before continuing straight ahead towards her house.

Sakura watched as Rika walked away for a moment before turning the corner and continued walking home. _But I wasn't exhausted when I saw it by the water, and I wasn't tired last night when it showed up again, _Sakura resolved. She knew what she saw even if no one else believed her. _I'm going to prove that the wolf is real and it's following me._

Sakura arrived at her grandmother's home and found Touya working out front on the fence she had told him about yesterday. He looked to wipe a bead of seat that trickled down his brow and his eyes met her. In an instant, Touya jumped over the small fence he was working on and swept his sister up in a big bear hug. "T-Touya… you're kind of squishing me." Sakura strained out. Realizing this, he quickly loosened his grip but still kept the protective hug around his little sister.

"Kaho told me about yesterday. What were you thinking going in the woods all on your own!?" His brown eyes stared down into her bright green ones. His eyes reflected the concern and anger of Sakura's actions, but Sakura held fast that she didn't always need a protector and stared up at him in defiance. "You look at me as if I did something wrong; you're the one who went out into the forest all by yourself and got hurt, not me." Touya said bluntly as he noticed Sakura's expression.

"I don't need someone always beside me to make sure I'm okay at every instant, Touya." Sakura barked back. "So what if I get a couple scrapes here and there? I'm not just a little doll that you can keep hidden away so it doesn't break."

"It would be fine if you were different, Sakura! You're a huge klutz and are sometimes the biggest idiot in the world! Of course I'm going to worry about you since you can barely take care of yourself!"

Touya's words stung Sakura as she stepped out of her brother's now not-so-welcoming embrace. She knew that she wasn't the most coordinated person and that she made a few mistakes, but there her brother was throwing it in her face and rubbing it into her wounds. "Touya…" Sakura's normally soft sounding voice was now laced with anger and hurt. Touya looked down at Sakura in surprise. Normally when they had arguments she got angry, but never to the level where Sakura felt like she could explode at any moment. "How _dare_ you!" Sakura screamed.

Every neighbour and passer-by turned to the siblings in front of the small home. Quarrels between the two weren't uncommon, but Sakura had never raised her voice in such a shrill manner that everyone was taken aback by the outburst, even Sakura herself.

Sakura noticed that all eyes were on her, and decided to just let everything out she had been holding in. "You have no right to say I can't take care of myself! You coddle me and try to keep me so sheltered that it's no wonder that when I finally break free to have breathing room that I get a few scrapes! How do you expect me to live if you won't even let me do _that_ myself!?" She yelled. Still fuming, Sakura walked up to Touya's chest and poked his chest hard. "You decide you're going to leave and live by yourself, but still take it upon yourself to dictate my life, but you know what, that's all going to change!"

Leaving it at that, Sakura turned back to the small house and stormed inside, closing the door with a resonating slam.

Sakura's grandmother sat in her rocking chair in the living room looking up at the raging young woman. She watched Sakura for a moment before patting her armrest, motioning for Sakura to come sit with her. Cautiously, Sakura approached her grandmother. It was obvious that the old woman had heard everything she had said and now felt bad for humiliating Touya in front of everyone. Although she did pity him slightly, that didn't change the fact that Sakura was going to be true to her word; things would be different for her, she was no longer going to let anyone tell her how she should live her life.

"Little Blossom…" She said warmly. Sakura sat down on the floor next to her grandmother and looked up. The old woman smiled, the few wrinkles on her face scrunched together as she did. "I'm proud of you for finally standing up for yourself."

To say Sakura was shocked would be an understatement. She had thought that her grandmother would at least reprimand her for embarrassing Touya, but she said nothing expect for that she was proud. "Thank you, Grandmother." Sakura smiled, her eyes slightly watering. _I'm free…_

**~The Next Week~**

A week had passed since the incident in front of her grandmother's house, and Sakura hadn't heard from Touya since. In Touya's stead, one after one men began showing up at Sakura's door asking her to consider them as potential husbands. She had never realized how many men had actually been interested in her and the only reason they held back was Touya. Sakura was flattered by their offers but politely declined.

For Sakura, she had bigger concerns.

Not only had a week passed since her freedom, but it had also been a week since Sakura's little wolf stalker had begun to follow her. At night, she could see it waiting in the trees watching her, and sometimes she thought she saw it when she would walk around town shopping with Rika. Of course she hadn't spoken a word about it to anyone since the first day, but Rika had asked her a few times if she was looking for someone.

In the early morning, Sakura had gone to shop with Rika for some fruits for her grandmother. It had been a quiet morning, but Sakura's regular follower hadn't been far off. If it were a human, she would have confronted them by now, but how are you supposed to confront a wolf? No matter what she tried, she couldn't seem to lose it.

"Sakura," Her grandmother called, "there's someone at the door, could you please answer it?" Her grandmother sat in her rocking chair knitting a scarf for one of the children who came to listen to her stories. The child had asked her for a scarf like Sakura's because she wanted to be like her, so she agreed and had been working on it when Sakura left in the morning and had still been working on it when she returned.

Sakura walked from her room to the front door and opened it a crack to see who it was before opening it all the way. Standing in the doorway was a tall boy with messy black hair and a bag slung over his shoulder. "Sakura Kinomoto?" he asked.

"That's me…" Sakura replied softly.

The young boy turned to reach inside his bag and pulled out a package with Sakura's name on it. "This is for you." He said politely handing it over to her. Sakura had been prepared for it to be heavy, but it was so light it felt like nothing was inside. Sakura awkwardly shifted the box in her arms as she reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a couple coins for the delivery payment. "Have a nice day." The boy said turning on his heels.

Sakura closed the door behind her with her foot and began walking over to her grandmother with the parcel in hand. "I wonder who it's from…" She said to no one in particular.

Taking a seat on the long sofa, Sakura set in down beside her and began to unwrap it. The string holding the paper covering it was so tightly bound that Sakura's hands began to turn red trying to pull it apart. "It might be from another boy." Her grandmother teased. The old woman had found the boy's attempts quite amusing and had taken a liking to see the different ways they would confess their feelings to Sakura.

"I hope not…" Sakura mumbled. Giving up on the string, Sakura began to tear away at the paper and found it much easier to handle. Inside the paper package was a ball of pink material sat with a card on the top. Picking up the card, Sakura couldn't help but notice a lovely pine smell that seemed to lace the whole package. Inside the card, beautiful loopy writing read:

_I will watch over you from the shadows until the day I can step into the light and stand by your side_

_-Your Protector_

Sakura was confused about the cryptic message, but still found it flattering. The one part of it that confused her most was the fact that the sender called themselves her "protector". As far as she knew, Sakura didn't have a protector and had made it clear that she didn't want or need one. She was fine to take care of herself.

Sakura set the card down beside her and looked at the pink fabric. Carefully pulling it out of the impossibly well tied string, Sakura unfolded it and watched it gracefully fall to show the full design. It was a full length soft pink cape with a maze pattern around the edges. It was beautiful and extremely practical, and yet Sakura wondered why her mysterious sender would think she needed a cape. The winter months were approaching, but Sakura already had three or four other capes which her grandmother had made for her.

"The craftsmanship is far better than mine." Her grandmother teased. Sakura looked over at her grandmother who had a knowing grin on her face.

"I still prefer your capes, Grandmother."

"Don't be silly, Little Blossom. That cape is much nicer and far better made than my old ratty ones made of spare material. You should wear it; pink _is_ your favourite colour."

Sighing, Sakura resigned that the cape _was_ nice, even if it hadn't been made by the grandmother she admired so much. The cryptic message lay beside her on the couch, reminding her of its presence and its hidden meaning. _What does it mean when it says '_until the day I can step into the light'_? Why do they have to watch from the shadows? Why do they have to watch me at all?_ Sakura thought.

"This reminds me of the old legend…" Sakura's grandmother said dreamily. Sakura snapped her gaze to look at her grandmother. She _did_ know something that Sakura didn't.

"Which legend do you mean?" She asked, hoping it wasn't the legend she was thinking of.

The old woman sent her a smirk as she continued with her needlework. "Why the legend of Amber Eyes of course," Sakura's blood ran cold as her grandmother said the very legend she had been hoping it wasn't. She had tried to forget about her wolf-stalker, and yet apparently history was repeating itself during her lifetime… happening _to_ her. "I heard about last week…" she continued, "I was surprised when you didn't bring it up, but I guess now would be a good time to talk about it, right?" The old woman looked up from the half-made scarf and gave Sakura a knowing glance.

"Well…" Sakura looked away from her grandmother, but knew she had to own up to it. She never really tried to hide it… _Okay maybe I _did_ try to hide it, but it's just because I didn't want to worry her and make her think like everyone else: that I was losing it._ "You see…"

"I understand, Sakura." Her grandmother's response took her by surprise; she had been expecting her to at least say something about not trusting her. "The only reason I'm bringing it up is because I want you to be prepared… The legend tells the story of how the young woman met the wolf and that one day she disappeared, but the legend doesn't say what happened after. This may be your destiny, but please Sakura… take care of yourself."

_And that one say she disappeared…_ Those words jumped out at Sakura the most. That had been the part she had forgotten at the riverside. "I'm sorry for not telling you, Grandmother." Sakura said softly. "Please don't tell Touya about the connection to the legend… Just in case that this is just a big misunderstanding, I don't want to worry him."

As much as Touya had infuriated Sakura about his over-protective nature, she still didn't want him to freak out and worry about her; at the end of the day… he was still her brother.

A resonating howl came from outside the house, making Sakura jump. She knew that the wolf was outside and probably listening to their conversation. She shuddered in her seat and clutched the cape close to her chest. Her grandmother was right about the connection, but even if it was her destiny, that didn't stop Sakura from being scared out of her mind. It was even less reassuring for her frazzled nerves that no one, not even her wise grandmother, knew how it would turn out.

Another howl made her jump again, however, her grandmother sat perfectly still as she looked passed Sakura and out the window. Slowly Sakura turned her head and found herself face to face with the swirling pools of amber. Sakura screamed and jumped back off the couch in surprise and looked up at the wolf face who had watched her fall over on her butt.

"It's waiting for you."

Her grandmother's sudden voice made Sakura jump again. She looked back at her grandmother in confusion. The wolf was waiting for her, but to do what? Was she supposed to fallow the wolf now? Slowly Sakura tried to stand, her legs wobbling in fear, but her knees collapsed underneath her weight. She turned to hold onto the couch as leverage and stood up again. Her knees still shook when she was finally able to stand up straight.

"Hurry to your room, take whatever you wish to keep and put it in a small bag and hurry along." Her grandmother said softly. She had a tear in her eye as she looked up at her fearful granddaughter. Sakura did as she was told and made her way into the back of the house and into her room. She was really leaving.

Sakura looked to her small desk and found a small painting of her family before her parents died. She stood in front of her father who had his hands on her shoulders beside Sakura's mother and Touya. To her mother's right, her grandmother stood with her cane and her beautiful white hair; Sakura would miss her the most.

Placing that, along with a locket Touya had given her and her old book of legends from her grandmother, in her little over-the-shoulder bag, Sakura slowly made her way back to her grandmother and the wolf. She took her time and looked around the old home, trying to imprint every detail of the home into her mind in case she was never able to come back. It would be the last time she would walk the halls of the one place she had really thought of as home. Old memories of her and Touya playing together while running around the house played over in her head, bringing tears to Sakura's eyes.

She didn't want to leave.

Sakura entered the room and found her grandmother standing at the door with her new pink cape in hand. The old woman's eyes were reddened from holding back the tears for her granddaughter, trying to seem positive about her departure. Sakura wanted to embrace her grandmother and beg not to go, but fought back the urge knowing that she had to go and it would only make things more difficult for the both of them if Sakura showed any reluctance. "Are you ready?" the old woman asked.

Sakura nodded, not trusting her voice at that moment. The wolf was no longer in the window; Sakura guessed it was waiting beside the old wooden door for her. Slowly she walked across the room with her bag in hand and let her grandmother drape the cape over her shoulders and tie the front together. Sakura tried not to look at her grandmother's face, but couldn't help but study her as her trembling fingers made the last loop and tied the cape into place. "There." She said as she began brushing invisible lint off of the fabric.

"I love you, Grandmother." Sakura said hugging the small old woman. Her grandmother hugged her back and squeezed her tight. It may be the last hug she would ever share with her.

"I love you too, Little Blossom."

Reluctantly Sakura pulled away and turned to face the door. Beyond the old wood door, she knew the amber eyes wolf was waiting for her, but all Sakura wanted to do was lung out the door and scream at the wolf to leave her alone. Sadly, she knew that wouldn't work. According to her wise grandmother; this was her fate.

She slowly opened the door and stepped out into the dark, cool air. At the end of the path, sitting on the road, the wolf watched her as she began stepping forward towards it. The wolf stood up as Sakura got close, but Sakura didn't flinch this time; she was beyond angry at the wolf, the legend and her supposed fate.

"You want me to go with her right?" Sakura asked the wolf. The wolf bowed its head to her, never taking its eyes off of her."Well then, let's go…" Sakura said pushing past the wolf. The wolf quickly walked up beside her and the two made their way through the village towards the forest.

In front of her, the dark forest loomed overhead, seeming darker than usual at night.

"Damn you, Destiny."


	3. Chapter 3- Amber, Ruby and Amethyst

**Amber Eyes**

_Legend of the wolf was known throughout the small village where she grew up, but to most, it was an old wives tale. But legends always have underlying truth to them. "Beware the wolf on the prowl at night, for he will devour you on sight. They say you can hear his howling cries... Beware... Beware the Amber Eyes."_

_**~Previously~**_

She slowly opened the door and stepped out into the dark, cool air. At the end of the path, sitting on the road, the wolf watched her as she began stepping forward towards it. The wolf stood up as Sakura got close, but Sakura didn't flinch this time; she was beyond angry at the wolf, the legend and her supposed fate.

"You want me to go with her right?" Sakura asked the wolf. The wolf bowed its head to her, never taking its eyes off of her."Well then, let's go…" Sakura said pushing past the wolf. The wolf quickly walked up beside her and the two made their way through the village towards the forest.

In front of her, the dark forest loomed overhead, seeming darker than usual at night.

"Damn you, Destiny."

***Chapter 3***

_Amber, Ruby and Amethyst_

The pair had been walking for hours, trying to create as much distance between them and the village as possible. Sakura knew that once Touya found out she left he would send out a search party in every direction to get her back. She wasn't too sad leaving her village behind, the only thing that made her heart clench was the thought of her grandmother now alone in their old house with no one to keep her company. She would miss Touya, even if he was extremely protective, but she knew that he would be able to move on eventually; he would realize that Sakura didn't want to be found.

Along the hike, the wolf would prowl further ahead but look back every so often to make sure Sakura was still following close enough behind. If Sakura was lagging behind, it would either turn back and walk beside her, or wait until she got close enough to continue moving forward. The thick foliage was no problem for the seasoned resident, but for Sakura, the trek was difficult in certain area where what little trail there was would take dips or have a large fallen tree obscuring the path. Although sometimes she would slow down intentionally to show she wasn't really leaving her village behind completely of free will.

Occasionally Sakura would make comments about the forest, the intense hike or even the wolf. The wolf would only sometimes look at her or even make any sign that it was listening to her at all. It was only when Sakura commented on the beauty of the wolf's amber eyes did they stop walking. The wolf had looked back to her and watched her for a moment. Sakura found herself looking into the deep amber pools for just a minute before the wolf turned back to its and moved further ahead to, what Sakura decided, scout for any danger. She couldn't help but laugh knowing that normally the wolf would be the danger to an innocent girl in a forest.

The wolf stopped and was waiting for Sakura to catch up when she had fallen behind yet again. Sakura was panting and moving even slower than usual, but not of her own free will. The wolf walked up beside her and looked up at her. "I'm exhausted." she explained. "We've officially been walking for hours and my feet are sore, and I'm pretty sure the backs of my heels are bleeding. I think we're far enough away from the village to take a break…"

The wolf inclined its head before looking around once again. Sakura could tell it spotted something when its head snapped in the direction before looking to her and motioning for her to follow. Sakura only sighed and continued to follow her guide. The wolf finally stopped and motioned forward.

In front of Sakura was a small clearing with a fallen tree low enough that could be used as a backrest if she sat on the lush green foliage on the ground. She hurried forward and sat down for the first time in hours. She sighed happily as she got comfortable before moving to look at her injured heels. Sakura knew that they would be bad considering that she was only wearing cloth shoes with wood bottoms. The wolf sat down beside her as she peeled ruined shoe off her of her foot.

Even the wolf seemed to wince when she was able to get a clear view of her heels. The backs of her heels had been worn down and were covered in blisters. The blisters were on top and beside open cuts where the shoe had skipped the stage of the welts and gone straight to cutting through the skin and started to bleed. The blood, however, had stopped flowing and had crusted to her foot and blisters which made it hurt to even move her ankle in the slightest way.

"Stupid shoes…" Sakura muttered. She reached for the hem of her dress that had already started to become tattered and ripped a piece off and began bandaging her feet. She knew that her trip wasn't over yet; since that was the case she knew that she had to patch herself up if she had to keep moving. Once she finished binding her ankles, Sakura sighed deeply before she began pushing herself up from her comfortable position to continue walking.

She had barely gotten half way up before the wolf reached over and placed its paw on her thigh. Sakura stopped and looked over to her traveling companion. The wolf's eyes reflected sadness and pity, willing for her to rest for a while. "We have to continue moving." Sakura said. The wolf didn't want to hear it and placed another paw on her leg and forced her back down to the ground again. "You were the one who made me trek through this forest in the first place, and now you're telling me to rest!?"

The wolf winced at Sakura's raised voice, but didn't ease up the weight placed on her legs. "Fine…" Sakura sighed as she leaned back into the tree's mossy side. "We'll stop for just a while, but we really should keep going soon. Seeing as how quickly we've been traveling, I would assume you want to get there sooner rather than later." She wolf seemed to nod before lifting its paws from their position on her leg. Settling down beside her, the wolf's ears still stayed peaked, listening to the forest slowly wake up from the seemingly endless night.

The warm glow of the sunrise cascaded through the forest and made the morning dew on the grass and leaves shimmer. Sakura stopped and looked around her. She was finally able to admire the beauty of the forest. Small squirrels made their way down a tall tree across from where Sakura sat, and began their busy day by digging in the ground for stashed nuts, putting them in their mouths and scurrying back up the tree again. Sakura sat and watched numerous small animals began their day. Only a few stopped to look at her and the wolf, but saw no threat and continued going about their business.

Sakura looked to the wolf that had not got up to attack any small animals, much to Sakura's surprise. "I'm impressed you haven't tried to have your early morning breakfast." Sakura said smiling. The wolf raised its head and gave Sakura a look of surprise; one that Sakura could have sworn expressed '_How could you possibly think I would do something like that?'_

Sakura giggled at the wolf's reaction, which slowly built into a full laugh. It had felt so long since she had had a good laugh. The small woodland animals were surprised by the sudden noise and all scurried away from the pair lounging in the foliage. The wolf continued to watch her laugh hysterically, and made a snorting noise that Sakura interpreted as a chuckle. "I don't think wolves can laugh, but I'm sure you would be laughing too if you could if you had seen the look on your face." Sakura said as her laugh slowly died down and she wiped away the small tears that had appeared at the corner of her eyes.

Sakura exhaled deeply to calm herself down again and settle back into the peace of the forest. It took her a moment to realize how relaxed she was next to the same wolf that she had run away in a panic from only a week earlier. She also came to notice that she would be stuck with the wolf for a long time, and she would never really have a real conversation with someone again. She turned her head to face the wolf who hadn't stopped looking at her since she started laughing.

"You know… We're going to be together for a long time, and as difficult it is for you to express, I know nothing about you." Sakura said softly. The wolf's ears twitched as she spoke. It sat up and turned to properly face her. "Most people would think I'm crazy for talking to a wolf, but I know you can understand everything I'm saying. And since I know you can understand me, I should properly introduce myself to you." Sakura sat up and turned to the wolf, she swung her legs around so she was no longer resting on the tree trunk but sitting directly in front of the wolf. "My name is Sakura Kinomoto."

The wolf looked at her for a moment before raising its paw and offered it to her. Sakura smiled at the gesture, knowing that it was the only way for the wolf to introduce itself. Politely taking its paw, she finally noticed that the wolf was a male. She blushed slightly for not having realized it sooner and having looked there, but tried to make it look like she hadn't seen anything. "So…" She said looking back up at the wolf's face trying to not make the situation awkward and make it seem like she had been looking. "I can't just really call you Wolf all the time and you can't exactly tell me what your name is either."

She paused for a moment and looked at the wolf carefully, trying to decide on a name. "It's not very creative, but could I call you Amber? I know it's not very… manly, but it's the only thing I can really think of"

The wolf looked at her for a moment, and cocked its head to the side in thought. After a moment, he inclined his head in agreement. Sakura smiled widely. "Then it's settled, from now on you're Amber." The wolf didn't seem as thrilled about it as Sakura, but made no complaints about his new name. After all, Sakura's excitement would have made anyone feel bad to reject it now,

It wasn't long until a loud thump was heard somewhere in the distance. The first warm moment between the pair was immediately stopped by the unwanted and unsettling interruption. Amber sprung to his feet and looked around for any sign of the culprit before leaning down to Sakura and seemed to ask her to stand up. She slowly got to her feet and wobbled slightly, losing her balance and nearly tumbled to the ground again. Amber stepped beside her and let her catch herself using his body. "Thanks," Sakura said softly.

She wobbled back to her feet again, but the weight of her body was too much for her feet to handle in their condition. Amber looked up at her, and then motioned towards his back. "You want me to get on?" he nodded, and Sakura quickly mounted onto his back. "I'm a little heavy…"

Amber seemed to take no notice to her modesty, and began walking carefully, giving her a chance to get comfortable and hold on tight. Once she was resting on his back in a way that was comfortable for the both of them, Amber took off in a sprint. The wind was blowing hard in her face, causing Sakura to duck down closer to his back. The warm softness of his back was comforting in the high tension situation where the possibility of something dangerous was following them.

Another loud noise made Sakura flinch and grip tighter onto Amber's fur. He didn't seem to mind her grip, but made a low rumbling noise to calm her down. It was his way of telling Sakura that everything would be alright. The young girl seemed to take notice and eased up slightly, but still remained tense and alert to their surroundings.

Sakura raised her head to look around and found that the forest wasn't as thick anymore meaning they were almost out of the forest. Amber didn't seem to slow down even though they hadn't heard the sound again, wanting to clear the forest as soon as possible. Eyes wide, Sakura watched the world around her zoom by only catching a glance at some animals hiding in the trees or bushes for a second before they were gone again. The speed was exhilarating.

The pair broke through the last of the foliage and found themselves facing a large field surrounded by the thick forest. On top of the hill sat a large mansion unlike anything Sakura had ever seen. She had known that there were people who could afford to build and buy large manors but had only ever seen them in paintings or heard of them in legends, but she had never seen a painting as beautiful as the one in front of her.

In the front, two staircases on either side led up to a large patio area framed with hedges on either side of the steps. On the patio sat a single table with an umbrella in the middle, providing shade for anyone who were to sit there. Beyond the patio, several large white columns stretched from the patio all the way to the roof of the mansion and large glass windows that would let large amounts of natural light into what Sakura assumed would be a main hall. Numerous windows were along the whole back of the beautiful red stone exterior. The class of the building put Sakura's grandmother's hut to shame.

The wolf continued to walk forward; towards the gorgeous mansion. Sakura leaned down to Amber's ears, "Are we seriously going to that mansion?" her voice was high due to her excitement and the breath taking view. Amber nodded his head once and continued to walk forward.

Sakura could have fallen over and died happy there for being allowed near the classy place, but immediately felt very self conscious about the way she looked. Her bloody feet, tattered dress, dirty cape and probably ratted hair clashed with the high class look of the place. She wondered if anyone was actually there or if it would really just be her and Amber as she had first thought, and now hoped.

Amber carefully walked up the stairs, mindful of Sakura's injured feet and slowly due to the added weight. When they reached the top of the stairs, Sakura looked out at the immense field and felt so small in comparison to the field and the towering pillars behind her. _Is it really okay to be here?_ She asked herself as the wolf motioned for her to dismount.

She stood with little balance, using Amber as support as she lowered herself into a plush chair next to the shaded table. Deeply sighing, Sakura had never felt so comfortable in her life. Amber bowed his head to her and headed towards the large house. "Wait, Amber!" Sakura called. She didn't want to be left alone in case someone saw her and demanded she leave for trespassing. "Don't leave me here…" She said in a small voice.

Amber bowed his head to her and made small whining noises before turning back to the mansion and headed inside. Sakura tried to think about what Amber could have meant before it dawned on her. _I'll be right back, I promise_.

Sakura tried to relax again, but found herself too nervous and in awe about the whole situation. She had never imagined she would be sitting in a plush chair, in front of an extremely classy mansion that has its own private field, and surrounded by the forest she had just braved through with the wolf that had been stalking her. _If only Grandmother could see me now…_

The thought sent a pang in her heart. Her poor grandmother would have to deal with Touya's rampage, Rika's worried complaints, and of course the children who would be asking where she went. She hadn't really wanted to leave her grandmother behind at all; she wished she could have taken the old woman with her. Sakura sighed knowing that she couldn't have taken her grandmother with her even if she wanted to; her grandmother knew that going with the wolf alone was her destiny.

It seemed like it had been forever when Amber finally came back. Sakura sat up and smiled at her traveling companion. Her warm smile morphed into a look of utter horror when she noticed two beautiful women walking in behind him.

The first woman was wearing the most interesting dress Sakura had ever seen. It was a beautiful red dress decorated with golden leaves that seemed to be cascading down the dress, which hugged her well-developed frame. Although it was high collar and long, the long slit on the right side that reached to above her knee and the emphasis on her assets made the woman ooze beauty. Her long raven-black hair was tied up in an elaborate hair style held together by a decorative clip in a way that framed her angular face and ruby eyes. If the men of Sakura's village could see the exotic beauty, they would have all taken back their proposals and fallen to their knees in front of the regal woman, who not only radiated beauty but also confidence.

The woman next to her wasn't as empowering but instead was a joyful beauty. She had beautiful flowing midnight-blue hair that fell down to her waist in beautiful curls. She had soft amethyst eyes and a beautiful warm smile that made Sakura join her in smiling. She wore a more modest, but still beautiful light blue dress that had a form-fitting bodice that fell loosely from her hips down to her knees. Although she wasn't quite as well developed as the woman next to her, she still held a regal air to her that was filled with innocence and happiness.

"So this is the girl?" The ruby-eyed girl spoke. Her unexpected cold voice made Sakura flinch. Amber had noticed her reaction and turned back to send a glare at the young woman but she seemed to take no notice and stepped towards her. Sakura felt extremely self conscious under the expressionless, analyzing gaze of the breathtaking woman. "Doesn't really look like much."

"Don't be so mean, Meiling." The other woman finally spoke up. She approached the woman she called Meiling and placed her hand on her shoulder before looking down at Sakura. "The poor girl has just braved through the forest to get here; the poor girl is probably exhausted."

The midnight haired beauty bent over and offered her hand to Sakura. "Why don't we get you inside and look at those bloody feet of yours." Sakura silently took the offered hand and staggered to her feet. Not caring about her beautiful dress, the young woman draped Sakura's dirty arm over her shoulder to offer her leverage to walk. The two slowly began making their way into the castle-like home.

Sakura looked back over her shoulder at Amber. He sat next to Meiling watching her as she retreated into the house. She could have sworn that the wolf was smiling, but wasn't even sure if that was possible. She smiled back at him before following the amethyst-eyed woman ushered her through the beautiful glass double doors.

The inside of the house was even more beautiful than the outside. The pair had entered what Sakura assumed was the lounge due to the plush sofas and elaborately designed fireplace on the opposite side of the room. The high ceilings made the space feel so open, that with the windows and natural light, it still felt like they were outside on the patio. Beautifully painted artwork of different wolves hung on the soft off-white walls.

The young woman ushered Sakura to one of the plush, black sofas and gently eased her down into a sitting position. She immediately crouched to her knees and began unwrapping the bloody feet. She could only unwrap so much before the make-shift bandages began to cling to the dirty dried blood. Sakura winced when the young woman tried to remove it, making her immediately stop and closely inspect the wound.

"It looks like the wound was trying to heal itself, and the blood clotted and dried right into the bandage. I need to take it off though…" The woman looked up at Sakura with sympathetic eyes. "I'm going to need to rip it."

Sakura nodded stiffly and braced herself for the searing pain. With one swift movement, the bandage was ripped from Sakura's ankle. She let out a scream that she tried to muffle by biting her lip, but with her efforts of trying to make as little noise as possible, she made her lip start to bleed. Having heard the scream, Amber came rushing into the room to find the cause to Sakura's pain. He found Sakura sitting on the couch with the young woman discarding the old bandage and beginning to disinfect the wound.

"I'm alright, Amber…" Sakura said in a strained voice. She didn't want to worry him, but couldn't hide the pain she was feeling. He approached Sakura with his head down and nuzzled into her hand as she reached out to pat his head. "It's not that bad."

Neither Meiling nor her friend said a word as they watched the exchange between the wolf and the strange young girl. Once the amethyst-eyed girl finished cleansing the wounds she re-bandaged the injured foot before standing up. "I'm sorry, we haven't properly introduced ourselves." She curtsied to Sakura, making the tattered girl blush. "My name is Tomoyo, and –"

"I'm Meiling" the other girl cut in. Tomoyo shook her head at Meiling's cold attitude towards Sakura but didn't voice anything against her.

"I'm Sakura… you have an extremely beautiful home." Sakura said softly. She felt dumb for blurting out her admiration for the elaborate home, but Tomoyo's modest smile eased her nervousness. There was something calming about her that Sakura didn't quite understand, but was extremely grateful she wasn't as cold as Meiling.

Tomoyo once again offered her hand to Sakura, "Why don't we take you and go get you cleaned up?" her warm and inviting smile was what made Sakura decide to take her up on offer. If it had been Meiling, Sakura would have said she would do it herself or that she was fine. A strong vibe from Meiling read that she _really_ didn't want Sakura anywhere near the mansion.

Sakura gave Amber one last scratch behind the ear before standing up to follow Tomoyo further into the manor. He whined at the loss of contact, making Sakura giggle. "I'll be right back. I can't exactly stay in dirty tattered clothes can I?" He reluctantly bowed his head in acceptance. Sakura smiled and reached down to softly stroke his head again. There was something strange about the wolf that made Sakura completely comfortable around him, and want to be near him. "I promise I'll come right back so be good, okay Amber?"Again he reached his head up into her hand, telling her he understood.

Tomoyo offered her shoulder once again, and the two headed out of the open lounge through two beautiful dark-cherry double doors. Sakura found herself standing in the foyer of the mansion, which had an even higher ceiling than the lounge and a large staircase directly in the middle which had one landing before it split into two smaller staircases going up each side. A huge, and probably extremely valuable, crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. Tomoyo's small heels made echoing clacks on the polished marble floors.

"It'll be a little difficult to go up the stairs; do you think you can manage?" Tomoyo asked, pausing in front of the massive staircase. Sakura thought about it for a moment and judged the pain in her feet before nodding. Tomoyo gave her an encouraging smile before they began to slowly make their way up the stairs.

After a long and slow journey up the stairs and down the classy hallway, Tomoyo led Sakura into the bathroom where Tomoyo helped her wash her back, while being mindful of the bruises and other scratches that were all over Sakura from her intense hike. Sakura felt uncomfortable at first having Tomoyo, a girl she just met, wash her, but soon she appreciated the help greatly knowing she would have had an even harder time trying to wash herself.

The wash was only a quick one to wash away the grime and to wash and untangle Sakura's hair. Once the water was disposed of, Tomoyo handed her a strange wrap Sakura had never seen before. Tomoyo giggled as she watched Sakura try and figure out how to put it on. "This is called a _yukata._" Tomoyo explained, "They're light and breezy for the summer time, but still keep you warm enough to not catch a cold. Here, let me show you." Tomoyo leaned over and helped Sakura tie the dress shut and wrap, what Tomoyo called an _obi_, around her waist. "There you go," Tomoyo declared as she secured it into place.

Sakura stepped back and looked into the full mirror attached the back of the door to the bathroom. _Is that really me?_ Sakura found herself mesmerized by her own reflection. It wasn't because she was vain, but rather because she had never made enough effort to look nice and yet somehow Tomoyo had made her look like a different person without breaking a sweat. The _yukata_ wasn't as tight as Sakura anticipated, but it still showed that she had hints of a figure and fell straight down off her hips to her ankles. "Wow…" was all that Sakura managed to say.

Tomoyo smiled again, "I knew you were beautiful from the very beginning." Tomoyo said playing with Sakura's small bob haircut. She seemed to drift off into thought before coming back to reality and looking at Sakura through the mirror's reflection. "I was wondering why you named… the wolf."

"Because of his amber eyes;" Sakura explained, "In my village, there's a legend about a wolf with amber eyes, and I guess he just reminded me of the same wolf." Even though she had hated trekking through the woods, and was now taken away from her home, Sakura wasn't angry or resentful towards Amber.

Tomoyo nodded, but didn't say anything except for that they should head back downstairs so Tomoyo could start on dinner. Again, the trip down the stairs was slow, but it gave the girls time to talk. Sakura learned that Tomoyo loved fashion and had actually designed both the dresses that she and Meiling were wearing. Sakura didn't have anything too special about herself except for that she could now say she went on a hiking trip with a wolf.

"… I'm begging you, Meiling." A strange voice came from the same lounge they had left earlier. The new voice was deep and manly.

When Tomoyo pushed the door open, Sakura found Meiling sitting on the couch she had rested on earlier and a young man standing on the other side of the low table in front of her. Meiling had a smirk on her face as she looked up at the man. Sakura looked from Meiling to the new stranger, hoping to figure out who he was. She looked to Tomoyo to see if she would may, but her gaze was averted and looking at the open glass doors leading to the patio.

"Fine," Meiling said sounding exasperated, but the smirk was still plastered on her face. They hadn't seemed to notice Tomoyo and Sakura standing there a few moments later, giving Sakura a good look at the man.

He was a tall man with messy brown hair that hung low on his forehead, but still wisped enough to make him look better. He wore good quality pants and a nice white-collar shirt that was undone at the first few buttons. He looked at Sakura with wide eyes. The same beautiful, captivating eyes she had grown to love…

"Amber…?"

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Thank you soooo much for all the reviews!

I was planning on uploading Vices Versus Virtues, but I got a lot of inspiration over the past couple days for this story, and before I knew it the chapter was completed.

Please Read and Review like you do! 3


	4. Chapter 4- Amber and Man

**Amber Eyes**

_Legend of the wolf was known throughout the small village where she grew up, but to most, it was an old wives tale. But legends always have underlying truth to them. "Beware the wolf on the prowl at night, for he will devour you on sight. They say you can hear his howling cries... Beware... Beware the Amber Eyes."_

_**~Previously~**_

When Tomoyo pushed the door open, Sakura found Meiling sitting on the couch she had rested on earlier and a young man standing on the other side of the low table in front of her. Meiling had a smirk on her face as she looked up at the man. Sakura looked from Meiling to the new stranger, hoping to figure out who he was. She looked to Tomoyo to see if she would may, but her gaze was averted and looking at the open glass doors leading to the patio.

"Fine," Meiling said sounding exasperated, but the smirk was still plastered on her face. They hadn't seemed to notice Tomoyo and Sakura standing there a few moments later, giving Sakura a good look at the man.

He was a tall man with messy brown hair that hung low on his forehead, but still wisped enough to make him look better. He wore good quality pants and a nice white-collar shirt that was undone at the first few buttons. He looked at Sakura with wide eyes. The same beautiful, captivating eyes she had grown to love…

"Amber…?"

***Chapter 4***

_Amber and Man_

The room was completely silent as Sakura tried to understand why her favourite amber eyes were now adorned by an extremely handsome man. Meiling's gaze was heavy on Sakura as she slowly approached the mystery man waiting for someone to explain who this man was. As she reached out for him, Meiling stepped forward and grabbed Sakura's wrist breaking her hypnotized state and brought her back to reality.

"Wolf has gone out hunting since he was too busy taking care of you in that forest to eat." She said bitterly. "Tomoyo, why don't you get our _guest_ something to eat?" her emphasis on 'guest' made Sakura feel as though she weren't really a wanted guest. Meiling gave Sakura a cold smile before releasing her wrist. She sauntered over to the mystery man and wrapped her arm around his waist, holding him possessively close to her. Sakura looked at Meiling and then to him, his eyes now cast down at the woman who had a vice grip on him and whispering something to her that Sakura couldn't quite hear.

"Good idea… Come with me, Sakura."

Tomoyo's voice made Sakura jump slightly before quickly turning around, feeling as though she were intruding on an intimate moment. The pair passed through the doors again and began down the bright and spacious hallway.

Tomoyo babbled on about the different features of the house and told her about where different hallways led, but Sakura couldn't retain it all at once. There was too much that was overwhelming her mind that a mini house tour was the least of her concerns. She was taken from her home by a wolf, that same wolf protected her through the forest and then dropped her off at a luxurious home that she couldn't help but wonder if she was really wanted or not. _I don't even know why I'm here in the first place,_ She sighed.

Before she knew it, she found herself in what she guessed was the kitchen. The high ceilings had another beautiful chandelier hanging down and casting a beautiful sun-kissed sparkle over the black stone which covered all the white cabinetry. The wide open and spacious room echoed their footsteps around the room as they walked over to a floor to ceiling cupboard. When Tomoyo opened it, Sakura nearly fell over. The amount of food in the cabinet would have been enough to feed her and her grandmother for a lifetime. It seemed like a waste of food for the three people plus Amber living in the mansion.

"You can have anything you like," Tomoyo said motioning towards the stacks of food. Not sure what anything really was, Sakura reached out for the one thing she did recognize: an apple. She bit into it with a loud crunch and instantly craved more. She hadn't realized how hungry she had become during her trek through the woods. "Since you'll be living here, you're welcome to have anything anytime."

Sakura stopped crunching her apple and looked up at her with grateful eyes before turning back to the apple again. Tomoyo laughed and lightly pushed Sakura towards a plush couch near a window in the far corner of the room. Sakura hadn't even noticed that she had been pushed into a sitting position by the time she had reached the core of the apple. She slowly wiped the sides of her mouth which were dropping with juices from the apple and smiled again at Tomoyo who was leaning against the wall giggling lightly at Sakura.

"Thank you." Sakura said softly looking down at her hands in her lap still holding the apple core. She was completely embarrassed by her behaviour but could only chuckle at the thought of all the suitors back at the village who viewed her as strong, beautiful and independent seeing her devour an apple like it was her last. She was flattered, to say the least, but Sakura never enjoyed being put on a pedestal and admired as though she were just a doll.

Tomoyo leaned over and took the core from her hands and placed it on a plate which rested on a side table next to the couch. When Tomoyo turned around, Sakura came face to face with the most mischievous smile she had ever seen in her life. Although the raven-haired girl looked sweet an innocent when she smiled sweetly, the look in her eyes as she eyed Sakura gave Sakura shivers up her back. " So Sakura," She said slyly, "I saw the way you looked at Xiao Lang…"

Sakura looked at Tomoyo in confusion before it dawned on her that Xiao Lang must have been the man in the other room who had Meiling wrapped around him like a boa. Sakura raised her hands and shook her head, "It's not like that. His eyes reminded me of Amber so I was just a little confused."

"That doesn't change the fact that you were completely sizing him up." Tomoyo leaned back into the side of the armrest. Her black hair cascaded down over her shoulders and shone in the warm afternoon light that trickled through the beautiful window pane. She looked like a princess sitting, waiting for a servant to come and hand her a golden goblet of wine. Sakura couldn't help but admire the young woman as she radiated a comforting aura that was still very self-assured but not as much as Meiling. _She's like a beautifully painted doll_.

Tomoyo broke Sakura's trance in her beauty as she leaned forward again and reached for Sakura's hand. "Sakura, listen to me." She awoke from her dream like state but still sat completely still, staring at Tomoyo. She couldn't break her gaze in the swirling pools of amethyst. "No matter how that looked, Meiling and Xiao Lang aren't together."

"But why would I care?" Sakura asked, finally finding words. They caught in her throat which had become completely dry without her realizing.

"Just remember that, okay?"

Sakura nodded slowly, no fully understanding what Tomoyo was talking about, but realized that she wouldn't have told Sakura anything even if she had asked. Tomoyo relaxed into the armrest again and closed her eyes in comfort.

A soft clacking got Sakura's attention as she looked around the decorative kitchen for the source. She was pleasantly surprised when she found her beautiful amber-eyed companion round the corner and entered the kitchen. Sakura instantly felt better about her surroundings now that he had joined her again. It was an odd sense of comfort that she didn't completely understand but appreciated it to the fullest.

"Amber," Sakura said warmly. His eyes trailed up to find her on the other side of the kitchen. He softly padded across the floor, his claws clacking on the marble floors as he walked. His beautiful amber eyes were full of life when he reached her and nuzzled into her leg. Sakura smiled and reached down to gently rub behind his ear. He let out a low rumble of comfort that made Sakura giggle.

Tomoyo opened her eyes and leaned forward to look at the wolf closely. "How was hunting?" she asked.

Amber didn't seem to really feel like acknowledging her question and instead nuzzled into Sakura's leg more and whimpered slightly when she pulled her hands away. Giggling slightly once again, she moved back to rubbing behind his ear. He appreciatively turned his head upwards to lick her arm.

The three sat there for a while, and now that Amber was beside her, Sakura became more talkative with Tomoyo and answered all the questions Tomoyo asked. She wanted to know everything about Sakura: her childhood, her family, her friends, her village and everything in between. She asked strange questions and sometimes had odd reactions to some of Sakura's answers. Sakura was curious about Tomoyo's background due to her lack of knowledge on regular village life and. She must have been from a high class family to be as oblivious as she was and the extravagant lifestyle she seemed to live. Sakura had moved to the floor and curled up next to Amber's soft fur which kept her warm even though the marble floor was cold to the touch.

Before long, the sun had fallen behind the tree line of the surrounding forest and the house had gotten much darker. Tomoyo shuffled around the kitchen and pulled out an oil lamp and told Sakura to take it with her and go rest in her room until dinner was served. With no room for argument, Sakura graciously took the lamp and made her way down the vast halls back to the main staircase. She could hear Amber following close behind to be sure she went the right way and didn't end up getting completely lost on the way to her room.

It would have taken much longer to find her room if not for Amber's help. A beautiful decorative sign hung on her door with beautiful cursive writing that spelled out her name. Sakura softly opened the door and nearly dropped the oil lamp in her hands at the sight of the generously decorated room.

The whole room could fit her grandmother's home at least twice and was probably worth a hundred times more. The soft pale pink color of the room glowed under the warm light of the crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling with candles around the edge. A fancy plush bed was pushed to the right side of the room with two cherry-wood bedside tables on either side. Across the room was a small table with two chairs next to a large fireplace that would definitely keep her warm throughout the night. Heavy curtains were drawn over the windows that she assumed were similar to the wide windows all around the mansion. In short, the room was perfect. Sakura couldn't help but feel out of place in the princess-like room.

Amber nudged the back of her leg, encouraging her to enter the room and really look around. Sakura hesitantly stepped into the room and put the oil lamp down on the table, not needing it with the light from the candle-lit chandelier. She was sure she was dreaming as she took every detail from the crown molding around the fireplace to the fine details in the rug of the floor.

"This is beautiful…" Sakura said breathlessly.

Amber curled up on the rug next to her feet and nuzzled into her legs. Smiling, Sakura bent down and sat next to him on the floor stroking his fur. She felt the same odd comfort next to him again and settled in resting her head on his back. He flinched at first but quickly relaxed again and gave off the same odd purring noise of satisfaction. Sakura became so comfortable, exhaustion overtook her and she slowly drifted off to sleep softly holding onto Amber.

It was late the next morning when Sakura began to stir awake. She groaned slightly as the birds outside her window chirped loudly, not wanting to wake up just yet. Amber let out a soft rumble to comfort her, making Sakura smile and nuzzle into his back. For a wolf, Amber was so conscious of Sakura and what she was thinking and feeling and always seemed to make her feel so much better.

"Good morning, Amber." Sakura said stroking his back again. Amber shifted slightly under her weight, rolling to flip over and be able to look at Sakura while she now lay on his stomach. He leaned forward and licked her face, making Sakura laugh and wipe away the lovely slobber all over her face. "Thank you for that…" she laughed.

The peaceful moment was broken up by a loud knocking at her door. Sakura slowly dragged herself up from her position on the floor to open the door. She realized she probably looked terrible, but didn't care enough to freak out about it. If it was Tomoyo, she would rave about how she would make her look cute, and if it was Meiling she would… Sakura wasn't entirely sure how Meiling would react.

Sakura opened the door just slightly, not to expose herself completely to the person on the other side of the door. She was glad that she didn't when she found herself faced with a really attractive man with midnight blue hair and glasses. He stood there studying her for a moment before giving Sakura a warm smile and bowing. "I'm sorry for disturbing you." He said politely. "Tomoyo asked me to come and check up on you and invite you down for breakfast while also introducing myself."

The polite, handsome man straightened out, still smiling. Sakura hadn't noticed, but Amber had moved from his position on the rug to standing right behind her and growling loud enough for the new stranger to hear. Sakura gave him a quick look before turning back to the stranger.

"My name is Sakura Kinomoto." She said awkwardly curtsying from behind the half-opened door. Even though the situation was slightly awkward, the handsome man continued to smile warmly.

"I know very well who you are, and I'm very pleased to meet you. You're welcome to join us when you're ready." With that, he bowed once more before turning on his heel and setting down the hallway to which Sakura could only assume was the direction to head back to the main staircase.

Sakura lightly closed the door and leaned against it. Her heart was beating heavily in her ribcage. Never before had she seen a man quite as handsome and courteous at the same time. Many men were either one or the other but this stranger seemed to magically be both. A soft growling broke her dream-like state and brought her attention back to her wolf companion. "What is up with you?" Sakura asked looking down at him.

He sat down and looked back up at her with an almost defiant stare. The two stayed like that for a few minutes before Sakura sighed loudly and went over to the mirror to fix herself up for breakfast. She didn't understand why she cared so much about the wolf's attitude, but she let it get to her enough to make her frustrated. For a wolf, he seemed smarter than he let on. Sakura just wished she could understand him.

Once her hair was decent enough and the strange clothing that Tomoyo had given her was fixed, she made her way across the room towards the door. As she reached for the door, Amber stood up and walked to follow her. She knew she would need his help to get to the kitchen again, but after the staring match that he had clearly won, the tension between them was so thick she could have cut it with one of her brother's old dull tools. Not a sound was made by either as they walked down the hallway and stairs to the kitchen.

Tomoyo greeted the two with warm smiles and a hot plate of food for Sakura. Amber seemed slightly disappointed when he wasn't offered any of the food and sulked as he sat down next to Sakura beside the beautiful table. The man that had greeted her at her room was already sitting and waiting for everyone else to join him. Meiling was nowhere to be seen, but Sakura wasn't entirely disappointed by her absence; if anything it offered hopes for a more comfortable atmosphere at the table. Tomoyo quickly finished up what she was doing and took her place at the small glass table.

The table wasn't huge, but it was big enough for the three of them to eat comfortably. Nothing was said at first, only the sounds of clanking cutlery, but the stiff atmosphere was gently broken by the beautiful man. "I'm not sure if I did or not, but allow me to introduce myself." He set his fork down on his plate and stood p. He reached forward and took the hand Sakura wasn't using and kissed the top of it gently. "My name is Eriol Hiiragizawa; it's a pleasure to meet you Sakura Kinomoto". Sakura wasn't sure if he could notice, but she felt the heat rise to her face as she looked into his deep azure blue eyes.

The atmosphere seemed to warm instantly and the three chatted amiably about the beautiful house, the courtyard and the different places that Sakura found herself dying to explore. Tomoyo and Eriol made it clear that Sakura would be staying for a long time and should get to know the surrounding areas. The thought of staying in the beautiful home with mostly welcoming habitants appealed to her, but it was the nagging thought of her lonely old grandmother that made her heart ache. Sakura hoped that her grandmother was doing alright without her as she tried to cheer herself up and join back into the happy conversation happening around her.

"Well isn't this a cute scene…"

Sakura turned and found the ever pleasant Meiling standing in the doorway of the kitchen. She leaned against the doorway in a way that was both seductive and threatening. The girl was beautiful and it was clear that she knew it as she stood in a short form fitting dress with long white sleeves and gold trim and a strange symbol Sakura had never seen before in the middle. Sakura couldn't help but feel like a child sitting in the clothes that Tomoyo had given her in comparison to Meiling. Amber made a snorting noise in her direction before closing his eyes and returning to his curled up position next to the table. The comfortable atmosphere completely dissipated as Meiling walked into the room taking complete control.

"Good morning, Meiling." Tomoyo greeted happily. Sakura could tell that her sudden appearance had left Tomoyo surprised and unprepared even though she tried to hide it. Eriol stood up and held out a chair for Meiling to join them around the table, but she either didn't notice or didn't care enough to be polite and decline the seat. The whole room seemed to revolve around her and it was clear on her expression that she was enjoying every minute of it.

She rested her hand on the back of Sakura's chair, making her jump slightly and Amber raise his head enough to give a warning glare. "I couldn't help but overhear you talking about the courtyard," said Meiling. She leaned down next to Sakura's face and gave a smile that held no warmth, "Why don't you and I go for a walk together?"

Nobody moved as they waited for Sakura's response. The girl that had acted so coldly and rudely when Sakura arrived was asking if they could walk together even though it was clearly forced. _What is she thinking…?_

"That sounds wonderful." Sakura said warmly. Meiling smiled her fake smile again before straightening herself out again. "Great. Once you have finished here, Tomoyo will give you some more clothes to go walking together. When you're ready, I'll be sitting out on the patio." With that, she turned on her heels and walked out of the room without saying a word to anyone else. The room fell completely silent.

Amber was the first to move when he stood up and rubbed his face against Sakura's leg. She rubbed behind his ear earning another purr-like growl in response.

"Sakura…" Tomoyo said so quietly that Sakura almost didn't hear her. "I don't know what Meiling is going to tell you when you two are walking together, but whatever she says please try and understand." Sakura didn't understand the cryptic message Tomoyo was trying to tell her but she nodded anyways hoping that she would understand later. Deciding she was finished, Sakura stood up and brought her plate over to the counter. Tomoyo quickly followed and took Sakura by the hand and led her up the stairs.

Tomoyo's room wasn't much different than her own with the same layout but instead of the pale pink walls there was soft lavender which matched the plush plum bedcovers. Tomoyo hurried over to another pair of double doors and disappeared inside. Curiosity peaked; Sakura walked over to the doors and nearly fell over at the sight of rows upon rows of different clothes. She could see Tomoyo hurrying through the racks picking out outfits as she passed by. It wasn't long before Tomoyo made her way back to the doors and closed them behind her. She had a large pile of clothes in her arms and a big smile on her face.

After three different outfits, Tomoyo finally settled on a golden long, form-fitting dress that was similar to the one that Sakura had seen Meiling in the previous day. Tomoyo announced that she would put the rest of the clothes in Sakura's closet since she didn't have any clothes of her own. Fortunately it seemed that Tomoyo was only slightly bigger than Sakura in chest size; wearing hand-me-downs from her wouldn't be problem or make her look even more childlike than she already did.

Sakura began making her way back down the hallway towards the main staircase and then to find the room she had seen when she first arrived. Eventually she would know her way around the massive mansion but it was still like a labyrinth to her until then. A sudden bark made Sakura jump and turn to find Amber sitting in the hallway looking up at her.

"I'm a little lost, Amber." Sakura laughed to herself. Amber seemed to understand what she was implying and walked over and nudged her before turning around and walking back down the hallway. Sakura smiled and followed closely knowing that he would lead her to the patio and to Meiling. "You always seem to be there when I need you –Thank you." Amber gave a slightly purring growl before pushing his way through two beautiful doors.

From the door, Sakura could see out onto the patio where Meiling was sitting. She sat at the table and looked out over the seemingly never ending field surrounded in trees. Sakura began towards the door and Amber followed close behind. Sakura turned to look at Amber, "I can handle it from here." She smiled and continued walking to meet Meiling. Amber huffed and sat there and decided to wait until she came back with Meiling.

"Glad you could join me." Meiling said as Sakura closed the door behind her. The phrase would have seemed welcoming if it had come from anyone else, but from Meiling's lips it seemed far more forced than a willing greeting. Sakura was about to respond in her usual happy tone, but before the chance came, Meiling turned away from her and began walking the opposite way that Sakura had come when she first arrived. Not wanting to be left behind, Sakura walked as quickly as she could on her bandaged feet to keep up with Meiling. The stuck up girl didn't even seem to notice Sakura's struggles and even if she did she made no effort to slow down and walk _with_ Sakura.

After what seemed like forever to Sakura, Meiling finally stopped in the far back courtyard of the house. It wasn't anything special like the rest of the gardens; in fact it was quite dead. The ground was scorched and the grass was dead only in the small area. Confused would have been an understatement to how Sakura was feeling. Meiling seemed like the princess type and why she would come to the deadest part of the courtyard was beyond Sakura's comprehension.

"You like it here don't you? Enjoying the luxuries of this place and the kindest showered down on you by Tomoyo and her bumbling fiancé Eriol… You can't get enough of it." Meiling refused to turn around and face Sakura as she spoke. Sakura knew that Meiling was bitter about her presence in the house, but she didn't think she would be so blunt about her feelings. Before Sakura could even deny or agree, Meiling continued. "It seems like a palace where anyone would be happy to be… but that couldn't be further from the truth."

Meiling finally turned to face Sakura; tears streaming down her face, Meiling had lost all of the regal presence she had when Sakura had seen her the day before. "Sakura Kinomoto… This is a prison. We can never leave and have been stuck here for far longer than you could ever imagine. Do you know what it's like to have to live like a prisoner in your own 'home' for _centuries_!?"

_Centuries? How is that even possible!?_ Sakura didn't understand anything that was going on but the look on Meiling's face kept her frozen in place and without anything to say. Meiling walked back and forth slowly looking at the scorched ground. She finally stopped pacing in place and walked up to Sakura and looked at her right in the eye. "What I wouldn't give to be you, Sakura… And you just came here without understanding anything." Meiling chuckled slightly and backed away stumbling and sat in the dead grass looking up at the blue sky. Her ruby eyes clouded with an emotion that the poor confused girl couldn't figure out. "We may not have the same restrictions… but you're now a prisoner here too. Welcome to hell, Sakura Kinomoto."

* * *

**Heey guys... I know that it's been a really REALLY long time since I've updated but you would not believe the amount of writer's block I had on this chapter. Every time I tried to sit down and write it, it was like words just didn't exist in my head anymore... **

**I finally was able to push my ideas out and I think it turned out pretty well. I know it's not as long as some of the other chapters but I promise I'll make up for it in the next chapter by making it longer and try and get it out soonish!**

**I hope you enjoyed it! Please tell me what you think :D**

**~CiaraUotani**


	5. Chapter 5- Amber's Curse

**Amber Eyes**

_Legend of the wolf was known throughout the small village where she grew up, but to most, it was an old wives tale. But legends always have underlying truth to them. "Beware the wolf on the prowl at night, for he will devour you on sight. They say you can hear his howling cries... Beware... Beware the Amber Eyes."_

_**~Previously~**_

After what seemed like forever to Sakura, Meiling finally stopped in the far back courtyard of the house. It wasn't anything special like the rest of the gardens; in fact it was quite dead. The ground was scorched and the grass was dead only in the small area. Confused would have been an understatement to how Sakura was feeling. Meiling seemed like the princess type and why she would come to the deadest part of the courtyard was beyond Sakura's comprehension.

"You like it here don't you? Enjoying the luxuries of this place and the kindest showered down on you by Tomoyo and her bumbling fiancé Eriol… You can't get enough of it." Meiling refused to turn around and face Sakura as she spoke. Sakura knew that Meiling was bitter about her presence in the house, but she didn't think she would be so blunt about her feelings. Before Sakura could even deny or agree, Meiling continued. "It seems like a palace where anyone would be happy to be… but that couldn't be further from the truth."

Meiling finally turned to face Sakura; tears streaming down her face, Meiling had lost all of the regal presence she had when Sakura had seen her the day before. "Sakura Kinomoto… This is a prison. We can never leave and have been stuck here for far longer than you could ever imagine. Do you know what it's like to have to live like a prisoner in your own 'home' for _centuries_!?"

_Centuries? How is that even possible!?_ Sakura didn't understand anything that was going on but the look on Meiling's face kept her frozen in place and without anything to say. Meiling walked back and forth slowly looking at the scorched ground. She finally stopped pacing in place and walked up to Sakura and looked at her right in the eye. "What I wouldn't give to be you, Sakura… And you just came here without understanding anything." Meiling chuckled slightly and backed away stumbling and sat in the dead grass looking up at the blue sky. Her ruby eyes clouded with an emotion that the poor confused girl couldn't figure out. "We may not have the same restrictions… but you're now a prisoner here too. Welcome to hell, Sakura Kinomoto."

***Chapter 5***

_Amber's Curse_

"Meiling, what are you talking about? I don't understand…" Sakura said softly. She had watched the raven-haired girl go from her usual regal stature to sitting on the scorched earth with tears streaming down her face. The idea that everyone in the house had been stuck there for centuries didn't even make sense. How could that be possible and them still be alive and so _young_? Sakura walked forward and knelt down next to Meiling, "What do you mean we're prisoners here?"

Meiling closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "A prisoner is a prisoner, Sakura. You can't leave this place… and you can thank your little _Amber_ for that." Finally Sakura's confused emerald green eyes were able to look into Meiling's broken ruby red when her head rolled to the side and opened her eyes. "Before you get too carried away with the luxuries here… run. Run away as fast as you can and go home… it may not be too late for you. It's true that I don't like you but I would never wish this hell upon anyone."

When Sakura didn't move, Meiling turned and grabbed onto Sakura's shoulders and began to shake her. "Do you not hear what I'm telling you!? Get up, sneak into the house and grab your things before sneaking back out and running as fast as those banged up feet will carry you! Go back to your dinky little village and never come back!" Shoving Sakura backwards, Sakura barely caught herself before standing up and running back to the mansion. The urgency and desperation in Meiling's voice told Sakura not to question and to just do as she was told. As Sakura ran on her injured feet through the gardens back to the house, she could still faintly hear Meiling, she was sure she was still sobbing in the far back corner of the gardens.

Sakura pulled open one of the many doors along the back of the house, she quietly clicked it shut. She still didn't know her way around the house and hoped that she would be able to quietly slip into her room, wherever it may be, and grab her things before running through the forest. The thought of being alone in the forest wasn't appealing, but from what Meiling had said, having Amber as a guide wasn't possible. _"You can't leave this place… and you can thank your little Amber for that."_ Was what Meiling had said. _Did Amber know that I would become a prisoner here…?_

Only the soft padding of Sakura's feet across the beautiful floor was heard. If fortune was on her side, Amber would still be waiting in the parlour room where she had left him and Tomoyo and Eriol would be still in the kitchen. Quickly moving as quietly as possible, Sakura followed the long hallways and found herself at the main staircase. From there she knew the way to her room and took advantage of that by moving even faster than before towards her room at the end of the long hallway. When she arrived at her door she opened the door and quietly slipped inside.

The room she entered however was definitely _not_ her room. Instead of the pale pink walls and feminine décor, she instead found rich green walls with dark wooden flooring. There was no bed, but the presence of a closet and vanity made it seem as though it were a bedroom. To her left there was a desk cluttered with books which had most likely come from the beautiful cherry-wood bookshelf next to it that was filled with thick-spine books. On the opposite end of the room there were no curtains, only wide glass doors leading to a balcony looking over the front of the house and the seemingly never ending forest. The room was very masculine, but in the place of a bed there was a simple couch which was turned facing the balcony.

Sakura knew she should have turned and left, listening to what Meiling had told her but curiosity got the best of her and led her onto the balcony. The view was breath taking. She would miss the beauty of the mansion but she knew that listening to Meiling would be best. Even if the girl was spiteful towards her, she had shown that she was very honest. She wouldn't have told Sakura about being a prisoner and that she hated her in the same sentence if she was lying. Sakura felt like she could trust what Meiling was telling her.

"Well this is certainly a surprise…"

Sakura's heart stopped in her chest. She was supposed to have left without anyone seeing her and now she was caught in a room that was not her own by the person whose room it probably was. Slowly Sakura turned around to face the person that had caught her red-handed. Her heart was jump started and accelerated at the sight in front of her.

The man from the parlour, whose name she remembered was Xiao Lang, was now standing in front of her without a shirt and hair dripping wet. A towel hung around his neck uselessly as water droplets cascaded dreamily over his well built chest. His pants were loosely hanging off his hips, not fully buttoned at the top. Sakura's eyes traveled up his well built form to his handsome face with a cheeky smirk and beautiful amber-coloured eyes that were party covered by a mess of wet, chocolate brown hair. Sakura knew she should have looked away and apologized furiously for barging in his room, but her voice caught in her throat when she tried to speak and she just couldn't find the strength to tear her eyes away from the gorgeous man in front of her.

Xiao Lang removed the towel from around his neck and placed in on the armrest of the couch before starting towards Sakura. Sakura was still without words as the gorgeous man made his way towards her; frozen in place as the Adonis of a man walked towards her grinning. "I believe you're lost." He said extending his hand. "I didn't get to introduce myself properly, my name is Xiao Lang Li, but you can call me Syaoran."

Sakura reached forward to take his hand, against her better judgement. He took her hand gently and turned it so he held it palm up and kissed her hand softly. Her breath hitched in her throat at the feeling of his lips against her hands and looked up at her with his beautiful glowing eyes. Although he was a man she had never really met before, an odd sense of comfort and familiarity washed over Sakura as she looked into his eyes. They stayed like this for a while, Syaoran slightly bent over with his lips slightly parted and barely above the skin of Sakura's trembling hands at the soft whispers of breath she could feel from him. Their eyes were locked and unwavering from each other's gaze. "I… My name is Sakura Kinomoto." She finally said softly.

"It's a pleasure to finally have the chance to meet you properly, Miss Sakura." There was something behind those words that Sakura didn't understand, but simply nodded in return. Syaoran stood up straight and crossed his arms over his chest casually. "Did you lose your way to your room?" He smiled.

"Yes, I was on my way to my room to –" Sakura stopped herself before telling him about the conversation she had had with Meiling. No one had been supposed to see her and yet here she was in a stranger's room, caught red handed. There was no point in denying what she was trying to do, she wasn't really a prisoner like Meiling had said she was. She had come of her own free will, or rather due to her fate, but if her fate was to be a prisoner then Sakura knew that she was going to fight it however she could. Sakura took a deep breath and started again, "I was on my way to my room to collect my things… I'm leaving."

Many emotions flickered in the beautiful amber eyes, some almost frightened Sakura. "What do you mean you're leaving…?" he said calmly. Although his was steady and calm, his rigid stature and on edge nature made Sakura take a step backwards away from him. He noticed her movements and took two steps and closed the space between them. "Please tell me you're not leaving…" His desperate voice made Sakura look up at him questioningly.

"I won't be a prisoner here… I don't understand what's going on and no one is willing to tell me anything. The one thing I'm finally told is that I'm a prisoner, which not what I came here to be." Sakura tried to sound strong, but his muscular loomed over her and his pressing eyes kept all the courage she had tucked away deep inside of her. _I'm not really sure what I came here to be… but definitely not a prisoner._

Syaoran placed his hands on her shoulders, "You're not a prisoner here; that was never the intention. Sakura… I need you."

Never in her life had she been more confused. First Sakura was taken from her home by a wolf that was supposed to only be a legend, then she arrives here with a mixed response from the residents, she's told that she's a prisoner and needs to escape while she can and then a gorgeous man stands in front of her and tells her that he needs her. Nothing had made sense since she first saw Amber at the river. _Why Amber… Why did you bring me here!?_

"Sakura…" Syaoran said softly yet in a strained voice. Sakura hadn't even realised that she had looked away from him and was staring into his bare chest. She immediately blushed furiously and began to push away from Syaoran, but his gentle yet strong hold kept her from leaving his grasp. His chest that had once been decorated in cascading water was now moist from sweat. "There is something I need to tell you..." His earnest eyes kept her rooted in her place as he slowly backed away from her and moved back into the room.

With a deep breath, Syaoran visibly relaxed and began to shine. At first Sakura thought it was a trick of the sun, but slowly the shine became a warm glow around him. Sakura's hands moved to cover her agape mouth as she watched the light around him sparkle and he began to change. It frightened her to see his body begin to morph and his entire bone structure change. Fur sprouted from his back and arms and two pointy wolf ears appeared on top of his head. Before she knew it, Syaoran was now gone and before her was the wolf that had been her protector in the forest, that had shown her warmth and comfort was she was lost and confused. Her source of stability was now the root of everything that had come to confuse her. Amber was Syaoran… And Syaoran was Amber.

The whole room began to spin. All sight and sound was overtaken by darkness.

**~The Next Day~**

It was the warmth on her face that caused Sakura to stir the next morning. She struggled to open her fuzzy eyes and try and make sense of her surroundings. She was back in her beautiful plush room tucked comfortably in her fluffy bed that, she uncomfortably realized, made her feel sweaty and gross. She peeled the covers back and walked over to the window that had allowed small sliver of sunlight in that woke her up. The beautiful view from her bedroom was breath taking as usual and Sakura found herself wanting to run in grass and dance under the warm rays of the sun. She wiggled her toes at the thought, finding that her feet didn't hurt near as much as the past days; they could almost be called healed.

Loud voices broke Sakura from her thoughts and turning towards the door where the voices sounded like they were on the other side of the door. She didn't have to move from her spot to tell that it was Meiling and another man, most likely Xiao Lang.

The thought of the beautiful man morphing into the wolf body made Sakura's head spin. It didn't seem even remotely possible that a man could turn into a wolf, and that wolf happened to find her and bring her to this mansion. That part still didn't make sense to her. Why did Syaoran/Amber bring her to the mansion in the first place? Deciding that she was finished with not having answers, Sakura stormed to her door, ready to face whatever the answers might be.

She reached for the door when it quickly swung open and hit her directly in the forehead and stubbed her toes. Sakura yelled in pain, cursing herself for not moving quick enough and the person who hit her with the heavy door. "God, who opens a door like that!? I was _right_ there and you just _had_ to hit me with a door that probably weighs more than I do!"

"How was I supposed to know you were right there!? You were supposed to be unconscious!"

Sakura looked up holding her throbbing head to find Syaoran standing there looking down at her with both anger and concern. Meiling stood behind him trying to muffle her laughter. Her laughter made Sakura even more confused than before. The girl had been sobbing and grieving only a short while ago and had told her to escape, and now she was laughing at her pain and frustration. Nothing in the mansion made sense anymore.

Syaoran sighed and reached for Sakura's wrist, moving it away from her forehead. "It's pretty red but there's no elevation so it shouldn't turn into a bump." Kneeling down, he looked at her toes with gentleness that shocked Sakura, and apparently Meiling as well by her sudden flustered attitude and anger. "Well the girl can't even listen to instructions so it's no wonder that she would be so stupid as to hurt herself on a door."

Syaoran didn't look back at Meiling as he spoke, "Instructions that it's better that she not listen to. Meiling, you went too far this time." He raised to his feet, giving Sakura a chance to see his furious expression before he turned it on Meiling. His amber eyes were narrowed and bled a cold stare that made Sakura's blood run cold. "If she hadn't bumped into me in my room and had left, we would have been stuck like this for eternity, Meiling! I don't know if you care about never leaving this world and going home, but you don't know what it's like to have to be a wolf for the majority of the day for the six hundred years we've been here!"

The whole room fell silent. Sakura couldn't do anything but stare at the man's back, imagining him as a wolf and suffering for hundreds of years being stuck like that. She still didn't understand what was going on, but the seriousness in his voice and thinking back to what Meiling had said, Sakura couldn't help but believe what they were saying. If they had been lying, they were the best actors she had ever seen.

"Xiao Lang, don't you see that she isn't the girl you're looking for!?" Meiling yelled. Her pleading eyes looked at Syaoran, begging him to not look at her with such a menacing glare. "She's weak, easily manipulated and looks like a child!"

"Meiling, you won't say another word against her if you know what's good for you…"

"But Xiao –"

"Just get out of here!" Syaoran roared. Several _real _teardrops fell onto her flushed cheeks as she stared up in disbelief. Without a word, Meiling turned and ran as fast as she could out of Sakura's room, slamming the door behind her. Sakura wanted to go after her and comfort her, but she would be the last person that Meiling would want to face right now. She had never intended it, but Sakura had just torn Meiling apart.

Syaoran turned around to face Sakura, his expression softened as he looks at her wide eyed face. He approached her slowly and caressed her cheek softly. "You aren't any of the things Meiling said you were. I saw for myself how strong you are. What Meiling calls manipulation is actually your caring heart wanting to reach out to anyone who is broken." He stepped even closer, his body lightly bushing against hers, sending shivers up her spine. Bringing his second hand up, he rested both of his hands on the sides of her face and looking deep into her emerald green eyes. "And you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." Slowly his face inched down towards her own, his breath brushing over her hair that tickled her forehead.

"That's far enough." Sakura said with courage she didn't know she had. Her hands reached up and pushed on his chest. She could feel his muscles through the thin material of his shirt as she began to push him away from her, but his strength overpowered her own and kept them close together, but not as close as he obviously wanted. Sakura looked up at him with defiant eyes. "You tricked me into thinking you were just a wolf, took me away from my home, you just Meiling cry and now you're wanting to kiss me. I think you need to slow down, take a step back and explain to me what on earth is going on."

Syaoran let go of Sakura and took a step back. "You're right…" He said softly. He took another step back but his leg froze and his whole body began to shake. "I… I wish I could tell you right now." Before Sakura could ask him why he couldn't, a familiar glow began to envelope Syaoran's body as he began to morph into Amber. It still confused Sakura why he could turn into a wolf, but what currently plagued her mind was why he chose now to turn back into his wolf form. When the transformation was complete, Syaoran sat as a dog looking down at the floor with his ears pressed down to his head in a submissive way.

"This doesn't explain anything, you know that right?" Sakura said in an annoyed voice. Syaoran heard her annoyance and whimpered lightly. He looked up at her with the same beautiful amber eyes that seemed to be pleading for her to understand. He looked from her to the door and back again. Sakura had an idea of what he wanted and walked towards him and knelt down in front of him. Syaoran flinched slightly as she reached out and placed a hand on his furry head. "Let's go talk to Tomoyo." She said with a smile.

Syaoran instantly perked up and smiled as much as a wolf could, spinning around quickly and hurrying over to the door, waiting for Sakura to open it. Sakura smiled as she followed her wolf companion to the door and down the hall to where Syaoran, most likely, was following Tomoyo's scent. They turned down a hall that Sakura had never been down before that was decorated with beautiful pictures of women in elaborate outfits and display cases that held some of those dresses. Sakura was mesmerized by all of the beautiful clothing that was in different styles and materials that Sakura had never seen in her life. Every time that she began to fall behind, Syaoran would come back and remind her that she was supposed to be following him if she really wanted answers. The reminder would work for a short while until she spotted another amazing creation protected by a fortified glass case.

At the end of the hall the door was partially open and from within the room Sakura could hear Tomoyo singing. She had a beautiful melodic voice that left Sakura with a warm sensation fluttering in her chest even though she couldn't understand the strange language that Tomoyo sang. The cheeky, impatient wolf nudged Sakura's thighs, pushing Sakura into the room. "Um, Tomoyo?" Sakura's voice faltered, suddenly extremely nervous and unsure. Did she really want to know the truth to everything? _What if Meiling was right? What if I am the wrong girl?_

Tomoyo looked up from her work table and saw both Syaoran and I awkwardly standing at the door. She smiled brightly and ushered for us to come in. "I'm glad that you're awake, Sakura! I was so worried when Xiao –Amber came running in with you limply hanging over his back unconscious."

Sakura smiled. Tomoyo still didn't know that Sakura knew about Xiao Lang and Amber being the same. She walked over to the work table and hugged Tomoyo, who was surprised but gladly hugged the petite girl back. "I know about Syaoran and Amber being the same… it's okay." Sakura chuckled. Although she laughed, her heart still clenched at the thought of him deceiving her and her own stupidity of following him into the woods and ending up tangled in something she didn't understand.

"I wish I could have told you sooner…" She whispered softly. Tomoyo hugged Sakura tighter, clenching onto her dress. She pulled away slightly to look at Sakura, "Has he told you the rest yet?" There was a look in her eyes that seemed hopeful. Sakura wasn't sure if she was hopeful that Syaoran had already told her, that she didn't know or something else entirely. "That's actually why I'm here." Sakura replied smiling. "I was hoping you could tell me."

Tomoyo turned her gaze on Syaoran who had seated himself not far from the table, looking up at the two girls hugging. He looked down to the ground under Tomoyo's cutting gaze, but she sighed heavily and looked away from him. "I guess at least this is something _I_ get to tell you." Taking Sakura's hand, she led her across the room to a sitting area with a beautiful china tea set that looked as though it hadn't been used in a long time. The base white cups were decorated with a flower design of pink petals and green leaves that surrounded the rims and beautiful saucers to match. The tea pot was decorated with a beautiful scene; a flowing crystal blue river was tucked away under an old wooden bridge that led to a gazebo. Standing in the gazebo was a man, strangely resembling Syaoran, and woman whose face was incomplete with not hair or face. In truth, it slightly scared Sakura but she made no comment to Tomoyo about their appearance.

Sakura was startled when Syaoran came padding up beside her as she took her place on a fancy, yet oddly comfortable couch. He leaned over and nuzzled his head into her hand. She smiled, knowing he could tell that she was nervous about the sudden seriousness coming from Tomoyo, the one person who had remained smiling and bright for her since she had arrived.

After quickly cleaning off the beautiful, haunting china set, Tomoyo prepared some ginger tea and sat in a chair across from Sakura. "Well… Where to begin…" Tomoyo said softly. Syaoran made a snorting noise in Tomoyo's direction that Sakura interpreted as"Just hurry up and start talking".

Sakura reached out and poured herself some tea, "You can start wherever it's easiest for you."

"Well…" Tomoyo began. She leaned back into her seat and looked between Syaoran and Sakura, clearly thinking hard." I guess the best place to start is introducing ourselves." Sakura was lost but waited for Tomoyo to continue. There was a long pause before the midnight-haired girl took a deep breath and held Sakura's gaze. "My name is Tomoyo Daidouji and I'm not from your world. I'm from a different space and time where there are cities filled with huge buildings, vehicles made of metal and where I work as a fashion designer.

"Eriol is my fiancé, but we only met here. He's from another world as well, but not the same as mine. From what he has told me, everyone in his world can use magic and are linked with their own creatures that hold part of their magic. He has two, one is named Keroberos and the other is Yue. They weren't always his, he is the reincarnation of the man who had originally created them… I'll let him explain it to you sometime.

"Meiling is actually Xiao Lang's cousin. The two of them are also from a different world. I'm sure he would like to tell you all this himself, but he is the heir to the throne in his world. This wolf form is apparently more of a recent thing. Meiling was never really meant to be here… she sort of followed him."

Sakura sat completely still. Everything slowly began sinking into her head. None of what she said seemed possible in any way, shape or form and yet everything made sense. The different clothes, Eriol's way of speech and manners and Meiling's attachment to Syaoran… the little things were starting to piece themselves together. Tomoyo could see Sakura slowly taking it all in, waiting to continue. When Sakura finally seemed to grasp everything, Tomoyo decided to continue.

"We all come from different worlds but we all ended up here for one reason… We're all cursed." Tomoyo leaned forward and took a small sip of her tea. "I couldn't tell you why or how I became cursed, but when everything in my life began to fall apart and I became extremely sick, I found myself at the house of a witch… She called herself a dimensional witch and with the price of everyone and everything I cared for, she landed me here where she said the curse will fade with time. If I had stayed, I would have died for sure. Here, I have completely recovered and I haven't felt the presence of the curse that brought me here, but now I am cursed to stay until I can find my own way home.

"I don't know the full story behind Eriol; he doesn't want to remember it. Xiao Lang however… he was cursed the day before his coronation as Emperor of his homeland." Sakura turned to look at Syaoran who had closed his eyes and kept perfectly still under her hand and she rubbed softly behind his wolf ears. "He doesn't really have control over his transformations, but he can only remain a human for one hour every day before he turns back into a wolf. It seems that he somehow found the _same_ dimensional witch and gave up his title as prince to escape to this world where she told him he could be saved by a girl… a girl who was strong enough to lift his curse and set him free."

Sakura's heart began to race. It was a lot to take in and she wasn't sure that she could handle it all at once but she tried to calm herself and process it all. Syaoran licked her hand again as a sign of comfort and oddly it did help. She was expected to save him from a curse that had ruined his life and chances as a ruler of a nation in some other world. _No pressure or anything, right?_ Sakura couldn't help but laugh to herself nervously.

Tomoyo leaned forward, placing her teacup on her saucer before reaching for Sakura's hands. She hadn't realized she had clenched them in a fits, but as Tomoyo's comforting hands wrapped around her own clammy ones she began to relax slightly.

"Sakura…" Tomoyo said smiling, "Why don't you go back to your room and lay down for a while. You did just recover and it's a lot to take in." Sakura nodded and slowly stood up and began walking back towards the door. Syaoran hurried to walk with her and be there whenever she stumbled.

As Sakura walked back down the hall, all the clothes were a reminder of the life Tomoyo left behind. She couldn't understand why Tomoyo would keep them when they would remind her of her old life that she would probably never get back. _I would be so lonely if I had to give up everything and everyone I ever knew…_ And then Sakura realized… she had. She had left her grandmother, brother and friends behind to venture off with a cursed wolf. In a way, Sakura was cursed as well.

* * *

_Thank you all sooo much for supporting this story! Sorry for the last cliff hanger... and yet another one, but I hope that Tomoyo and Syaoran's back stories were good ones! I promise you'll find out a little more about Eriol later!_

_For those of you who are also following **Vices Versus**_** Virtues**_I'm sooo sorry for the lack of updates. I'm working on the plans for that story and where I want to take it so I will hopefully update soonish_

_Please Review and let me know your thoughts on how this chapter went!_

_~CiaraUotani_


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